TONIGHT’S GAME: The Houston Astros (54-55) and Los Angeles Angels (42-66) play the finale of this 3-game series tonight at Angel Stadium.
RHP Hayden Wesneski (2026 Debut) will make his first start of the season as he takes on Angels RHP Grayson Rodriguez (3-3, 8.54 ERA).
SWEEPSTAKES: A win tonight would give the Astros their 4th series sweep of the season and their 2nd on the road. The other was a 3-game sweep vs. the Cubs at Wrigley Field, May 22-24. Their most recent sweep was a 3-gamer vs. MIA last
week (July 20-22).
BIG WES: RHP Hayden Wesneski makes his return to the big league mound tonight after missing the last 14 months while recovering from Tommy John surgery. His last Major League appearance was a start on May 6, 2025 at MIL.
Rehab: Wesneski posted a 2.25 ERA (5 ER/20IP) combined ERA in 5 rehab starts at Triple A Sugar Land (3 GS), Double A Corpus Christi (1 GS) and the FCL Astros (1 GS). His last rehab start was for Sugar Land vs. Nashville on July 24 (4.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO, 80 pitches, 49 strikes).
Local Product: Wesneski is a Houston-area native and was a standout at Cy Fair High School. He went on to have a record-setting career at Sam Houston St. (25-9, 3.56 ERA), which is also where Steve Sparks pitched in college.
RECENT STROS: The Astros have won 7 of their last 8 games. Their recent 5-game win streak (7/20-25) matched their longest win streak of the season (other was 3/28-4/1).
ROAD WARRIORS: Tonight is the final game of a 6-game road trip for the Astros (4-1 thus far). HOU was 2-1 over the weekend at CWS on the first stop of the trip. The Astros are 21-13 (.618) on their last five road trips combined and are 27-19 (.587) on the road since going 1-9 on their first road trip of the season. HOU is now 28-28 overall on the road.
ROAD SLUGGING: On the road, Astros are 1st in the AL in runs scored (268) and road HR (79) while ranking 2nd in road OPS (.739) and road SLG (.416).
VS. THE HALOS: A win tonight would give the Astros their 1st sweep of the Angels since Sept. 13-15 of 2024 at LAA, which was also a 3-game series. The Astros are 5-4 vs. LAA thus far in 2026. Over the years, the Astros have had success vs. the Angels. They are 143-92 all-time against the Halos, including a 69-48 record at Angel Stadium.
Note: The Astros were 2-0 vs. LAA in a 2-game, regular season series in Mexico, May 4-5 of 2019.
MEASURING UP: The Astros are 32-23 vs. teams currently at .500 or better. Additionally, HOU is a combined 20-11 vs. the 6 AL clubs currently holding playoff spots, with a 10-6 record vs. the 3 AL division leaders (2-1 vs. TB, 6-4 vs. TEX, 2-1 vs. CWS) and a 10-5 record vs. the 3 current AL Wild Card teams (5-1 vs. BOS, 4-2 vs. CLE, 1-2 vs. NYY).
THE LAMMA: RHP Peter Lambert finished the month of July with a 2-0 record in 5 starts with a 1.88 ERA (6 ER/28.2IP) and 32 K’s, allowing just 1 HR in the month. Since May 24, Lambert is 6-1 in 12 starts with a 2.79 ERA, ranking 2nd in the AL in wins in that span.
SLOW BUT STEADY CLIMB: After a 20-31 start to the season, the Astros are 34-24 (.579) since May 22, which is the best record in the AL in that span.
PEÑA POWER: Jeremy Peña has hit safely in 10 straight games at .439 (18×41) clip with 5 HR, 8 RBI and 14 R. He has raised his avg. from .287 to .314. in those 9 games.
MVP-CALIBER: Yordan Alvarez is a strong AL MVP candidate as he enters tonight leading the league in all three Triple Crown categories, ranking 1st in batting average (.325), HR (35), and RBI (80). Additionally, he currently leads all of baseball in OPS (1.082), OBP (.435), SLG (.647) and TB (251), and in the AL, he also ranks 1st in hits (126) and runs (74) and 4th in walks (72).
HOT IN JULY: Yordan Alvarez has posted a 1.223 OPS in his 21 games in July. For the month, he is batting .367 (29×79) with 9 HR and 20 RBI (.463 OBP, .760 SLG).
BRYAN’S BACK: RHP Bryan Abreu has a 1.46 ERA (2ER/12.1IP) in his last 12 apps. with just 7 hits allowed and 14 K’s in that span. Additionally, since May 1, he has a 2.31 ERA (7ER/27.1IP) in 28 apps., and is 5-for-5 in save opp. in that span. Prior to May 1, Abreu had a 12.54 ERA in his 1st 11 apps. of the season.
ROSTER MOVE: Following last night’s game, the Astros optioned RHP Miguel Ullola to Triple A Sugar Land, to make room for RHP Hayden Wesneski, who was reinstated from the Injured List today.
HOW THE WEST WAS WON: Beginning Friday, the Astros will host the 1st place Texas Rangers in a 3-game, AL West showdown. The Astros enter tonight in 2nd place in the West, just 2.0 games behind the Rangers. The Astros are 6-4 vs. TEX thus far in 2026. This weekend’s series will be the final regular season matchup between the 2 clubs.
TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 2024 – The Astros acquire LHP Yusei Kikuchi from the Blue Jays in exchange for RHP Jake Bloss, OF Joey Loperfido and minor leaguer IF Will Wagner. Kikuchi goes 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA (18ER/60IP) in 10 starts down the stretch. The Astros went 9-1 in his 10 starts in 2024 en route to winning the AL West Division title.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Wednesday, July 29, 8:38 p.m. CT
Location: Angel Stadium, Anaheim, CA
TV: SCHN
Radio: KTRH 740 AM; KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)
