TODAY’S GAME: The Houston Astros (74-72) and Philadelphia Phillies (82-64) will play the rubber match of this series this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.
RHP Cristian Javier (2-5, 5.98 ERA) will start for the Astros vs. Phils RHP Zack Wheeler (12-5, 3.23 ERA).
REMATCH: RHP Cristian Javier faced off against RHP Zack Wheeler in his only career regular season start/app. vs. PHI, which came on April 29, 2023 in Houston. He took the loss in a 6-1 Astros defeat.
ASTROS-PHILS: The Astros have won 5 of their
last 6 games vs. the Phillies. In those 6 games, Astros starters have combined for a 1.67 ERA (7ER/37.2IP). 3 of those 5 wins came via a shutout. HOU swept a 3-game series vs. PHI at Daikin Park in the last meeting between the 2 clubs, June 24-26 of 2025. In those 3 games, Astros pitchers allowed just 1 run in 27.0 IP.
Last Visit to CPB: The Phils took 2 of 3 from HOU in the last series here in Philly, Aug. 26-28 of 2024. In the final game of that series, Yordan Alvarez went 4×4 with 3 HR in a 10-0 Astros win.
Postseason History: The Astros and Phils have met twice in the postseason, with PHI taking the 1980 NLCS and the Astros winning the 2022 World Series.
MR. CRISTIAN: RHP Cristian Javier is making his 10th start and 15th appearance of the season this afternoon. He pitched well in his last start on Sept. 4 vs. ARI, allowing just 1 run and 1 hit in 5.0 IP with 8 strikeouts in a 3-1 Astros win.
Racking Up The K’s: In his last 4 starts, Javier has tallied 25 strikeouts in 17.1 innings of work.
Made History: In his last start at Citizens Bank Park, Javier was a part of just the 2nd no-hitter in World Series history, hurling 6.0 no-hit innings in the Astros 5-0 win in Game 4 of the 2022 World Series (11/2/22). Javier tallied 9 K’s in that outing. 6 current members of the Phillies started in that no-hitter. The night before the no-hitter, Phillies hitters combined for 5 HR in a 7-0 win in Game 3 of that WS.
ROAD WARRIORS: Today is the 3rd game (1-1 thus far) of a 6-game road trip for the Astros. After today’s game, they will fly to Florida for a 3-game set over the weekend vs. TB at Tropicana Field. Since going 1-9 on the first road trip of the 2026 season, the Astros have gone 36-25 (.590) on the road since April 14, which ranks third in the Majors in that span. More recently, they are 20-13 (.606) on their last 6 road trips combined (includes current trip).
LEAD PROTECTORS: Monday night’s win improved the Astros record to 64-0 when leading after 8.0 innings. They are 1 of 4 clubs that have not lost a game when leading after 8.0 innings. The others are TB (77-0), ARI (66-0), TEX (62-0).
BIG WES: With Tuesday night’s win, RHP Hayden Wesneski is now 3-0 in his last 4 starts with a 1.57 ERA (4ER/23IP). For the season, he is 5-1 with a 3.35 ERA in 8 starts (Astros are 7-1 in his starts).
THE HIT MAN: Jose Altuve collected his 2,500th career hit last night, becoming the 103rd player in ML history to reach this milestone. Freddie Freeman was the last player to reach 2,500 hits, which took place on June 9 of this year at PNC Park vs. PIT. Freeman (2,587) and Altuve (2,500) are the 2 active hits leaders in the Majors. Altuve ranks 2nd in franchise history in hits to Craig Biggio (3.060).
Another Record: Altuve’s 3-hit game on Sunday vs. ARI was the 225th of his career, which ties Biggio for the most in franchise history.
ON THE OFFENSIVE: The Astros lead the AL in SLG (.410), rank 2nd in HR (192), T-3rd in OPS (.725) and 5th in runs scored (660).
SLOW AND STEADY RECOVERY: Since starting the season with a 20-31 record after 51 games, the Astros are 54-41 (.568) in their last 95 games (since May 22). That is the second-best record in the AL in that span, behind only the Boston Red Sox.
WINNING THE WEST: The Astros currently hold a 2.0-game lead in the AL West over the 2nd-place Rangers. HOU finished at 9-4 vs. TEX, so they hold the tiebreaker vs. them.
STARTING STRONG: In the last 9 games, Astros starters have combined for a 2.94 ERA (16ER/49IP). The Astros are 5-4 in that span. Additionally, the Astros are 9-6 in their last 15 games, during which the starters have posted a combined 3.30 ERA (28ER/76.1IP).
TRIPLE THREAT: Yordan Alvarez, who is a solid candidate for the AL MVP Award, currently ranks 1st or 2nd in the AL in all three Triple Crown categories. He enters today leading the AL in batting avg. (.312), while ranking 2nd in HR (38) and RBI (96). Alvarez also leads the Majors in OPS (1.022) and leads the AL in SLG (.593) and OBP (.428).
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).
CHALLENGING STRETCH: The Astros are 5-4 thus far while in the midst of a stretch of playing 4 consecutive teams (CWS, ARI, PHI, TB) with winning records, 2 of which are leading their respective divisions (CWS, TB), one that would qualify for the playoffs as a WC (PHI) and another that is 0.5 game out of a WC spot (ARI). In this stretch, HOU has gone 3-1 vs. CWS, 1-2 vs. ARI and 1-1 at PHI.
MEASURING UP: The Astros are 28-20 (.583) vs. teams currently at .500 or above. They own a winning record vs. several clubs that are in the AL postseason hunt: 5-1 vs. BOS, 5-2 vs. CWS, 4-2 vs. CLE, 2-1 vs. TB, 9-4 vs. TEX.
DOWN ON THE FARM: Single A Fayetteville is scheduled to play tonight at Fredericksburg in Game 2 of their Carolina League playoff series. They lead the series, 1-0.
TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 2005 – In a 7-5 win at Miller Park in Milwaukee, Craig Biggio hits his 600th career double, becoming just the 13th player in MLB history to reach that milestone.
1980 – Jose Cruz is the hero with a 12-inning walk-off solo HR off Rick Sutcliffe to defeat the Dodgers in the Dome, 6-5.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Thursday, September 10, 12:05 p.m. CT
Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA
TV: Space City Home Network; MLB Network (subject to local blackout)
Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)
