TONIGHT’S GAME
: The first-place Houston Astros (70-68), who have won four of their last five games, will play the second game of their four-game series with the Chicago White Sox (72-65) tonight at Daikin Park.RHP Ronel Blanco (0-1, 7.71 ERA) was recalled from Triple A Sugar Land today to make tonight’s start for the Astros opposite RHP Sean Burke (7-6, 3.32 ERA) and the White Sox.
SLOW AND STEADY RECOVERY: Since starting the season with a 20-31 record after 51 games, the Astros are 50-37 (.575)
in their last 87 games (since May 22). That is the second-best record in the AL in that span, behind only the Red Sox (53-36).
MEASURING UP: Last night, the Astros began a streak of playing four straight teams with winning records (CWS, ARI, PHI, TB). The Astros are an American League-best 27-19 (.587) vs. teams currently at .500 or above. Some clubs that they have winning records against include BOS (5-1), CHC (3-0), CWS (3-1), CLE (4-2), MIA (3-0), and TB (2-1).
VS. THE WHITE SOX: The Astros are 3-1 against the White Sox on the season, which includes winning two of three in Chicago from July 24-26. The Astros are 23-14 vs. CWS over the past six seasons (2021-26), posting winning records in each of those years. Houston is 56-47 all-time vs. the White Sox.
BAGGY IN THE BOOTH: Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell will be on the Space City Home Network telecast for the first three games of this series, alongside play-by-play man Todd Kalas and sideline reporter Julia Morales. Geoff Blum will return to the telecast for Thursday’s day game.
ROAD WARRIORS: On Sunday, the Astros completed a 4-2 road trip to New York, where they went 2-1 against both the Yankees and Mets. Since posting a 1-9 record on the first road trip of the 2026 season, they have gone 35-24 (.593) on the road since April 14, which is the second-best record in the Majors in that span. More recently, they are 19-12 (.613) on their last five road trips combined.
TODAY’S ROSTER MOVES: The Astros have recalled RHP Ronel Blanco and OF Jake Meyers from Triple A Sugar Land. Blanco will start tonight’s game for the Astros.
ON THE OFFENSIVE: Among AL teams, the Astros rank first in total bases (1,902), first in slugging (.410), second in HR (183), third in runs scored (630), and fifth in OPS (.726).
TRIPLE THREAT: DH Yordan Alvarez, who is a solid candidate for the AL MVP Award, currently owns at least a share of the lead in all three Triple Crown categories. He enters tonight leading the AL in batting avg. (.317) and RBI (94), while ranking tied for first in HR (37).
Rare Feat: Since Carl Yastrzemski won the AL Triple Crown in 1967, there has been just one Triple Crown winner in the Majors, Miguel Cabrera in 2012 (AL).
MATCHING HIS BEST: DH Yordan Alvarez has matched his career high by smacking 37 home runs on the season, reaching his total from 2022. His career-high in RBI is 104, set in 2021 (currently has an AL-best 94 RBI).
THE HIT MAN: Jose Altuve enters tonight’s game needing just six hits to reach 2,500 for his career. Among active players, Altuve ranks second in hits, trailing only 1B Freddie Freeman (2,584).
BLANCO’S BACK!: Tonight’s Astros starter RHP Ronel Blanco missed the first few months of the year while recovering from right elbow surgery, returned to the Majors in July, and spent the last two weeks down at Triple A. Blanco was a mainstay in the Astros rotation prior to his injury, making 45 starts from 2023-25, going 18-11 with a 3.36 ERA (94ER/251.2IP) and a .200 opponent average.
THE CLOSER: LHP Josh Hader has worked 18 consecutive scoreless appearances, spanning 19.0 innings. This is the longest streak by an Astros hurler this season and the second-longest active streak in the Majors. Opponents are just 5×62 (.081) vs. Hader during the streak. Hader is also 21-for-21 in save opportunities in 2026. Hader in August: 1-0, 13 G, 0.00 ERA, 14.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 15 SO.
TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 2019 – RHP Justin Verlander tosses the 13th no-hitter in Astros history, blanking the Blue Jays by a score of 2-0 in Toronto. He fans 14 Blue Jays on the afternoon, issuing just one walk. Tied 0-0 entering the 9th, the no-hitter was only possible thanks to a two-out solo homer by 3B Abraham Toro. This marked Verlander’s third career no-no.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Tuesday, September 1, 7:10 p.m. CT
Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX
TV: Space City Home Network
Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; KTRH 740 AM; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)
