TONIGHT’S GAME: Tonight, the Houston Astros (24-31) and Texas Rangers (24-29) will play the 2nd game of a 4-game series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX.
RHP Jason Alexander (1-0, 7.30 ERA) will make his 2nd start and 4th app. of the season for the Astros as he takes on Rangers RHP Jack Leiter (1-4, 4.61 ERA). Tonight will be Alexander’s 1st career appearance at Globe Life Field.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT: In his last start, RHP Jason Alexander hurled 6.0 scoreless innings on May 19 at MIN in what was
an emergency start.
Alexander, who has spent most of the season at Triple A Sugar Land, will make his 2nd start and 4th appearance of the season tonight. It is also his 2nd career start/appearance vs. TEX.
Remarkable Run: In 2025, Alexander had a remarkable run while in the Astros rotation. In a span of 9 starts, the Astros went 9-0, with Alexander posting a 2.32 ERA in that span (July 29-Sept. 15).
THE SILVER BOOT SERIES: In the first installment of the Silver Boot series in 2026, the Astros took 2 out of 3 from Rangers, May 15-17 at Daikin Park.
With last night’s win, HOU has now won 6 of their last 7 games vs. TEX.
Even Series: The two clubs have played each other 296 times in the regular season in their franchise histories, with the Astros holding a slight advantage, 149-147.
Recently, the Astros have had the upper hand, winning or splitting nine straight season series, going 96-52 against the Rangers since the start of the 2017 season.
The Silver Boot Trophy, which the Astros have held onto since 2017, is on display in the Centerfield Team Store at Daikin Park.
200 CLUB: The Astros next win will be #200 for manager Joe Espada. Espada’s very first managerial win came via a no-hitter by RHP Ronel Blanco on April 1, 2024.
ROSTER MOVE: The Astros optioned OF Zach Cole to Triple A Sugar Land following last night’s game.
To take his place on the active roster, the Astros reinstated OF Taylor Trammell from the 10-day IL today. Trammell is in the lineup today, batting 5th and playing LF.
RECENT STROS: The Astros have won 4 straight, 5 of their last 6 and are 7-3 in their last 10 games.
BLANKINGS: Last night’s 9-0, no-hit win at TEX was the Astros 6th shutout of the season, which is T-2nd most in the AL.
FOR STARTERS: Astros starters have a combined ERA of 2.14 (13ER/54.2IP) over the last 10 games.
Last night was the 4th time in the last 6 games that an Astros starter did not allow a run in his start. Additionally, Astros starters have allowed no runs 5 times in the last 10 games.
WALKER, TEXAS HAMMER: 1B Christian Walker is on a sizzling run as of late with 3 HR and 9 RBI in hits last 3 games (5×11, .455).
For the season, he has been one of the top hitters in the AL and is currently tied for the league lead in RBI with 40.
He also ranks 6th in HR (15), 5th in TB (108), T6th in SLG (.540) and 11th in OPS (.879).
Walker also has not committed an error in his 55 games played.
THROWING SOME LEATHER: The Astros 19 errors as a club are tied for the fewest in the AL, along with KC and ATH. The Astros have a .990 team fielding pct.
PEN PALS: As a group, the Astros bullpen has had a decent run of success recently.
Since May 8, they have a combined ERA of 3.25 (20ER/55.1IP).
Individually, several relievers are currently pitching well:
–RHP Bryan Abreu: 0.00 ERA in last 8 outings (7.2 IP, 0 R).
–AJ Blubaugh: 3.14 ERA in last 9 outings (14.1 IP, 5 ER).
–LHP Bryan King: 1.42 ERA in last 10 outings (12.2 IP, 2 ER)
–LHP Steven Okert: 9 K’s in his last 5.2 IP (6 apps.) and a 2.89 ERA in his last 10 outings (9.1 IP, 3 ER).
ROAD WARRIORS: The Astros have been one of the AL’s top hitting teams on the road in 2026.
Entering today’s game, HOU leads the AL in road batting avg. (.265) and OBP (.335) while ranking 2nd in runs (134), SLG (.417) and OPS (.757).
YESTERDAY’S NO-NO: RHP Tatsuya Imai (6 IP), LHP Steven Okert (1.0 IP) and RHP Alimber Santa (2.0 IP) combined to no-hit the Rangers last night, 9-0.
It was the 18th no-hitter in franchise history (incl. postseason) and the 5th combined no-hitter in franchise history.
Christian Walker (3-run HR), Yordan Alvarez (solo HR) and Nick Allen (2 H, 2 RBI) led the way on offense.
ABOUT THE NO-NO: *In franchise history, it was the 17th regular season no-hitter and the 18th overall. The last was thrown by RHP Ronel Blanco on April 1, 2024 vs. TOR.
*It was the 5th combined no-hitter in Astros history and the 1st since Nov. 2, 2022 at PHI, which was Game 4 of the World Series.
*Per Elias, RHP Alimber Santa became the 1st pitcher since 1900 to pitch in a no-hitter in his ML debut. According to their records, it happened one other time, which was on Oct. 15 of 1892, when RHP Bumpus Jones of CIN hurled a 9.0 inning CG no-hitter in his ML debut.
*Last night’s no-hitter was the Astros’ 7th since 2019, which is the most in the Majors in that span. Additionally, the Astros 18 no-hitters overall are the most in the Majors since the franchise was born in 1962.
*The Astros are the 3rd team ever to have 2 rookies as part of a combined no-hitter. The other teams were the Cubs, 9/4/24 vs. PIT (Porter Hodge, Shota Imanaga) and Mariners, 6/8/12 vs. LA (Lucas Luetge, Stephen Pryor). source: Elias.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Tuesday, May 26, 7:05 p.m. CT
Location: Globe Life Field, Arlington, TX
TV: Space City Home Network
Streaming: SCHN+
Radio: KTRH 740 AM, KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)
