Category: MLB

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Houston Astros (42-45) will play the middle game of their three-game series against the visiting Minnesota Twins (41-45) tonight at Daikin Park.

RHP Mike Burrows (3-8, 5.48 ERA) will make his team-leading 16th start of the season tonight opposite the Twins and their ace RHP Joe Ryan (5-4, 3.18 ERA).

ABOUT BURROWS: RHP Mike Burrows is coming off a strong start his last time out on June 24 at TOR, in which he worked 6.0 innings, allowing one run on two hits and one walk.

Burrows has been a durable starter in his first season in Houston, as he leads the Astros in starts (15) and innings (85.1).

He joined the club from the Pirates this offseason as part of a three-team, six-player trade in which the Astros sent OF Jacob Melton and minor leaguer RHP Anderson Brito to the Rays, while the Rays sent IF Brandon Lowe, OF Jake Mangum and LHP Mason Montgomery to the Pirates.

ASTROS-TWINS: Tonight is the 100th regular season game between the Astros and Twins in their franchise histories, with Houston owning the all-time advantage with a 52-47 record. There are several connections between the two clubs including both team’s catchers, with C Victor Caratini spending his last two seasons (2024-25) in Houston and C Christian Vázquez spending his last three years (2023-25) in Minnesota.

THE SLOW TURNAROUND: After a slow start to the season, the Astros are 22-14 since May 21, which is the best record in the AL in that span. On that date, the Astros were 20-31, 11 games under, which is their low water mark for the season.

Winning Percentage since May 21, AL

1. Astros 22-14 (.611)

2. White Sox 19-15 (.559)

3. Mariners 19-16 (.543)

RECENT ‘STROS: The Astros have won five of seven, six of nine, and are 9-4 in their last 13 games. The Astros 15-11 record in June ties as the best in the AL, along with their rival Rangers.

SERIES-LY SPEAKING: The Astros have won five consecutive series dating back to June 12, posting a 11-5 record in those games. The last time the Astros won five straight series was from June 20July 6 of last season (went 12-3 in that stretch).

WINNING THE CLOSE CALLS: The Astros are 9-5 in one-run games and 18-10 in two-run games. Each of the Astros last six wins and 11 of their last 12 victories have come by two-or-fewer runs.

PEN PALS: Since May 15 the Astros are 25-17 thanks in part to their bullpen, which has posted the lowest ERA in the AL in that span at 2.62 (45ER/154.2P). They’ve been led by their lefties since that date with LHP Josh Hader (0.75 ERA), LHP Bryan King (2.25 ERA) and LHP Steven Okert (2.29 ERA) all posting low ERAs.

GET ‘EM EARLY: The Astros lead the AL in 1st inning runs with 60 runs scored in their 87 games. Overall, the Astros rank fifth in the American League in runs scored (391), with their opponent tonight, the Twins, leading the AL in runs (417).

TODAY’S ROSTER MOVE: The Astros have placed IF Jeremy Peña on the 10-day IL with a left calf strain and have recalled IF Raynel Delgado from Triple A Sugar Land.

OUT ON ASSIGNMENT: The Astros have several players out on minor league rehab assignments and are adding to that group today.

OF LaMonte Wade Jr. (right hamstring strain) will begin a minor league rehab assignment tonight for Triple A Sugar Land in their series opener at OKC.

RHP Hayden Wesneski (right elbow surgery) began his minor league rehab assignment today for the FCL Astros, tossing 3.0 scoreless innings.

MVP-CALIBER: DH Yordan Alvarez has had a torrid first half to his season, currently leading all of baseball in OPS (1.031), OBP (.424), SLG (.607) and total bases (185). Additionally, he ranks tied for first in the AL in homers (25) and extra-base hits (41), while ranking second in batting average (.308), tied for second in hits (94), third in runs (58), fourth in walks (58), and tied for fifth in RBI (56).

ALL-STAR UPDATE: DH Yordan Alvarez has been named a finalists for the 2026 KONAMI eBaseball MLB All-Star Ballot with second-phase fan voting available now through Thursday, July 2 at 11 a.m. CT. Alvarez has been an All-Star three times thus far in his career.

Since 2017, the Astros 37 All-Star selections are tops in the AL in that span.

ROAD WARRIORS: With their win on Sunday in Detroit, the Astros completed a seven-game road trip with a 5-2 record after stops in Toronto (2-1) and Detroit (3-1). The Astros are 15-8 in their last three road trips combined and are 21-14 on the road since going 1-9 on their first road trip of the 2026 season.

DOWN AT TRIPLE A: The Astros have several players performing great down at Triple A Sugar Land, including RHP Ethan Pecko and IF Cavan Biggio. In June, Pecko has gone 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA (2ER/24IP) in four games, while Biggio has hit .321 (26×81) with nine extra-base hits, a .476 OBP and a 1.032 OPS in 21 games in June.

TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 1962 – At Colt Stadium, the Colt .45s defeat the Reds, 7-3, in a game shortened to just 7.0 innings due to heavy fog. RHP Bob Bruce goes the distance to improve to 6-1 on the season for the expansion Colt .45s.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Tuesday, June 30, 7:10 p.m. CT

Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX

TV: SCHN

Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)

Astros-Twins tonight: pic.twitter.com/Ao5x3dbxJv

— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) June 30, 2026

The Brewers opened their series against the Reds last night with a late rally to take a 5-3 win. It was their fourth straight win against the Reds this season. The Brewers will try to extend that to five straight wins tonight.

Brandon Sproat starts game two for the Brewers. He’s pitched six innings in two of his last three starts, with his last one particularly impressive. Coming against this Reds’ team, he pitched six shutout innings with just one hit allowed and 10 strikeouts. This is his third career start against them.

For the Reds, Rhett Lowder gets the start. The Brewers also faced him in their last series and scored three runs off him in 5 2/3 innings. Overall, this season, Lowder has a 4.81 ERA and 4.67 FIP in 12 games over 58 innings.

Before tonight’s game, the Brewers made a roster move. They selected the contract of Garrett Stallings from Triple-A Nashville. Stallings was originally drafted by the Angels in 2019 and has been at the Triple-A level since 2024. This season, he has a 3.45 ERA and 3.29 FIP in 16 games (12 starts) over 62 2/3 innings. He also has 59 strikeouts and 22 walks. His first appearance will be his major league debut, and he offers a full complement of three options available as well.

In a corresponding move, they optioned Robert Gasser to the Rookie ACL Brewers following his start yesterday. They did not need to clear a 40-man spot since one was open following Luis Rengifo’s DFA and release. While this is not a surprising roster move, the destination is. There could be a few reasons for this. The Brewers are traveling to Arizona after this series for three games against the Diamondbacks. Gasser cannot be called up for 15 days unless it’s as a corresponding move for an injury. This could be some security if there is an injury concern on the pitching staff. It could also be for some extra work, as other pitchers have rehabbed in Arizona since it provides a more flexible environment, especially when pitching in games. He could also be used as the 27th man in Milwaukee’s doubleheader against St. Louis next week (there is no minimum day requirements in the case of a 27th man).

After three straight games against left-handed starters, the Brewers are back to their regular lineup with a righty on the mound. One change in the lineup is that Joey Ortiz is getting a start at shortstop following his go-ahead home run last night. Cooper Pratt and Andrew Vaughn will start this game on the bench.

First pitch is at 6:40 p.m., and the game will be on Brewers.TV and the Brewers Radio Network.

Last night of June

📺: https://t.co/eycfmE2vgm
📻: WTMJ

→ https://t.co/mvGXoRMTFSpic.twitter.com/uIjMq98qvc

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) June 30, 2026

Rhett on the mound for game 2.

Powered by @PNCBankpic.twitter.com/3734O0yD9J

— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) June 30, 2026

The Cincinnati Reds welcomed back closer Emilio Pagán prior to Tuesday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers, getting back the would-be anchor of their bullpen after a roughly two month absence due to a serious hamstring injury. That good news, of course, was offset by more bad news on the injury front, as that’s just apparently how things are going to be for the Reds this year.

Dane Myers hit the IL after he hit the wall in fifth gear last night’s crushing 5-3 loss to the Beers, so Ivan Johnson will get his first day as a big leaguer after being called up for bench depth.

There’s a bit more good news today, however, as Eugenio Suarez is back in the lineup again after being plunked on the hand by Pittsburgh over the weekend in what, at the time, was scary enough to make us all wonder if it was broken. Good news!

Edwin Arroyo gets yet another start as the team’s 2B for the day during his hot streak, and Matt McLain will once again begin the game on the pine.

Brandon Sproat will start for Milwaukee, and with a 6.75 ERA at home (and 5.43 ERA overall) he’s one of the precious few Brewers having a bad season so far. Of course, he fired 6.0 IP of nearly perfect 1-hit ball (wiht 10 K against nary a walk) in his first start of the season against this Reds club, so maybe he just needs to face them a little bit more to make those overall numbers look a lot, lot rosier.

Rhett Lowder will toe the rubber for the Reds looking to get into a groove. That mustache, those locks need groovin’, after all.

First pitch is set for 7:40 PM ET. Lineups for both clubs are listed below.

San Diego Padres (43-40) at Chicago Cubs (47-38), June 30, 2026, 5:05 p.m. PST

Watch: Padres.TV

Location: Wrigley Field – Chicago, Ill.

Listen: 97.3 The Fan

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Tonight’s lineup. pic.twitter.com/E1p2KsdSJy

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 30, 2026

See you tonight at our place!

Tune in live on @WatchMarquee. pic.twitter.com/EVB0sDnIyK

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 30, 2026

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Shohei Ohtani’s streak of seven consecutive Wednesday pitching starts ends this week, as the Dodgers star won’t pitch the series finale against the A’s in West Sacramento, the team announced on Tuesday.

Shohei Ohtani will not start tomorrow against the A’s and will pitch Friday against the Padres.

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 30, 2026

Wednesday is the Dodgers’ sixth game in a stretch of 13 game days in a row, and moving him to Friday against the San Diego Padres eliminates the possibility he might be needed to pitch on five days rest during this stretch, something he’s only done once this season.

Seven Wednesdays in a row for Ohtani is the longest streak of pitching starts on the same day of the week in Dodgers franchise history. Last year, Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Fridays, March 28-May 2) and Roki Sasaki (Saturdays, March 29-May 3) each had six-start streaks.

Roster move

Being in a 13-game stretch often means many trips for the fresh arm express, and Tuesday was no exception with Wyatt Mills getting called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City to replace Jonathan Hernández, who was designated for assignment.

Hernández was often used in mop-up situations at the end of lopsided games, and his 0.167 average leverage index is the lowest in the Dodgers bullpen among pitchers with at least five appearances. Those innings he soaked up produced an 8.15 ERA and 5.90 xERA in 12 games, with 15 strikeouts and 12 walks in 17 2/3 innings.

Hernández getting designated for assignment opens up the 40-man roster slot the Dodgers will need when they activate Evan Phillips off the 60-day injured list some time soon. In the interim comes Wyatt Mills, who probably got to West Sacramento by plane, though it’d be easy to think he walked to Sutter Health Field. Mills in four mop-up appearances for the Dodgers this year has seven walks and one strikeout in his 3 1/3 innings, with three runs allowed.

Mills has excelled in Triple-A this season, posting a 2.64 ERA in 26 games for Oklahoma City, with 45 strikeouts and 16 walks in 30 2/3 innings, with six saves.

Detroit Tigers (36-49) vs. New York Yankees (48-36)

Time/Place: 7:05 p.m., Yankee Stadium
SB Nation Site: Pinstripe Alley
Media: Detroit SportsNet, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network
Pitching Matchup: LHP Tarik Skubal (3-4, 3.32 ERA) vs. RHP Cam Schlittler (8-4, 1.62 ERA)

Player	G	IP	K%	BB%	GB%	FIP	fWAR
Skubal	10	59.2	28.2	3.4	45.8	3.14	1.4
Schlittler	17	100.0	29.9	5.1	43.5	2.22	3.7

Skub Day

⚾️ 7:05 PM ET
📺 @WatchDSN
📻 @971theticketxyt
🏟️ Yankee Stadium pic.twitter.com/Ec9XKk19Cv

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) June 30, 2026

First Pitch: 7:10 PM CDT

TV: Twins.TV

Radio: TIBN, WCCO 830, The Wolf 102.9 FM, Audacy App, LosTwins.com

Know thine enemy: The Crawfish Boxes

Is this Joe Ryan’s final start as a Twin? Probably not, but as the trade deadline approaches you have to wonder. Ryan is in the middle of the best season of his career in terms of ERA+ (136), ERA (3.12), and FIP (2.81).

Joe will match up against Astros starter RHP Mike Burrows. He features a fastball, change-up, slider, curve ball, and a sinker. He’s had a rough year so far (5.48 ERA in 15 starts), but is coming off a 6 inning, 1 run performance against the Blue Jays.

Byron Buxton is out of the lineup again today, but looking at 1-7, all of those guys have been hitting pretty well lately.

The magician has taken center stage in Major League Baseball.

For his first act, he’s making the ball disappear regularly. 

Four games in a row, to be exact.

Pirates outfielder Esmerlyn Valdez has been a lightning rod for the offense over the past week, smashing six home runs in his first 16 career games.

In need of a spark with Oneil Cruz and Spencer Horwitz likely out until after the All-Star break, Valdez has provided extra power to a group that has already hit 108.

They only hit 117 all of last year. Thanks Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn. 

Known as “the magician” and to analyst Michael McKenry as “the magic stick”, the Pirates might have found something here. 

Esmerlyn Valdez hits one 461 FEET!

Look at where this baseball lands 😳 pic.twitter.com/gHJcOznQAb

— MLB (@MLB) June 28, 2026

He has as good of power as anyone the Pirates have developed in over a decade, evident by the stunning 461-foot home run he hit on Sunday.

Valdez has earned the right to play every day. 

According to Sportsradar, Valdez is the first player in Pirates history to record 10 or more extra-base hits in his first 50 MLB plate appearances, dating back 125 years to 1901.

How often can this front office claim organizational success in developing a power hitter?

It felt like the power grid failed for half a decade with a Pirates offense that couldn’t find water if it fell out of a boat into the Allegheny River, let alone a home run ball, landing on it. At least other than Oneil Cruz.

Valdez catapulted his way to the big leagues after starting 2025 in High-A. 

Since, he’s hit 45 home runs in 195 games and is batting second for the Bucs on Tuesday against potential All-Star Game starter and Cy Young candidate Cristopher Sanchez. 

It’s about time the Pirates have a developmental story similar to the Brewers and Cardinals, where players you seemingly never heard of before blossom into middle of the order bars and borderline all-stars. 

In 45 at-bats, Valdez is hitting .289 with four doubles, six homers, 12 RBIs, an OPS of 1.138, and an impressive .360 on-base percentage.

Over the last seven games, Valdez has 11 hits in 21 at-bats with seven RBIs from the right side of the plate.

That’s good enough to make any Pirates fan hoist their cone, jump for joy, and try some magic themselves.

Could it be an outlier? Possibly. But don’t ruin the fun.

The Pirates desperately need to tread water, or better yet, finish a few games over .500 before the break with series against the Phillies, Nationals, Braves, and Brewers. 

Some might say it will be an uphill battle and one the bullpen can’t handle, but like past pre-ASG weeks and especially at PNC Park during 2013-15, maybe, just maybe, all the Pirates really need is a little magic.

The St. Louis Cardinals will begin a difficult road trip as they’ll visit the NL East division-leading Atlanta Braves. Matthew Liberatore will try again as he is the scheduled starter for the Cardinals. The Atlanta Braves starter is unannounced as of now. First pitch is scheduled for 6:15pm central time at Truist Park in Atlanta. Game TV broadcast available on Cardinals.tv.

You can’t really end June on a particularly high note if you’re the Braves, given the standard you’ve set… but a win’s better than not a win and a loss would, once again, suck.

The Dodgers scratched Shohei Ohtani from his scheduled Wednesday start against the Athletics, in a move that all but ensures he will not pitch in the All-Star Game.

The Dodgers delayed Ohtani’s start until Friday. The team plans a bullpen game Wednesday, with Roki Sasaki expected to start Thursday’s opener of a four-game series against the San Diego Padres and Ohtani lined up to follow the next day.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the move did not reflect any health concerns. Ohtani was in Tuesday’s lineup at designated hitter, and Roberts said he would DH on Wednesday as well.

Read more:Wife, kids of Dodgers' Miguel Rojas in Caracas when earthquakes hit Venezuela

Instead, Roberts said, the move affords Ohtani extra rest and two starts against the teams closest to the Dodgers in the National League West standings, the Padres this weekend and the Arizona Diamondbacks the following weekend, rather than making his last two starts before the All-Star break against the A’s and Colorado Rockies. Ohtani would still available when the Dodgers resume play after the All-Star break against the New York Yankees.

“There’s just no downside,” Roberts said. “This just made too much sense.”

However, by starting on the weekend before the All-Star Game, Ohtani would no longer be lined up to pitch in the game. Roberts previously had said that Ohtani, already elected as the NL designated hitter, would not pitch in the game unless he were the starting pitcher, as it would be impractical for Ohtani to warm up during a game in which he was the DH.

The top candidates to start for the NL: Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers, the major league leader with a 1.45 earned-run average, and Cristopher Sanchez (9-3, 2.13) of the host Philadelphia Phillies.

Ohtani would have been starting Wednesday on his usual six days’ rest. However, with the Dodgers on a run of 13 consecutive games without an off day, Roberts said pushing Ohtani back would allow the Dodgers to better manage his workload.

He is 8-2 with a 1.58 earned-run average this season. Among NL pitchers with at least 70 innings, his ERA is bettered only by Misiorowski.

Read more:Fernando Valenzuela did the impossible 36 years ago today

Ohtani already has pitched 79 2/3 innings this season, his most in three years. He spent all of the 2024 season and the first half of the 2025 season rehabilitating from elbow surgery.

For all that Ohtani has accomplished and will accomplish during his career, he might have missed out on his one chance to pitch in Sacramento. This series marks the Dodgers’ lone scheduled visit during the A’s three-year stay here. The A’s plan to move into a new ballpark in Las Vegas in 2028, the next time the teams are scheduled to face off.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Nats got into a hole against a hot Red Sox team yesterday and were unable to come back. Today, they will look to find a foothold in this series. It will be a battle between two exciting young pitchers in Cade Cavalli and Connelly Early.

While Luis Garcia Jr. got to face a lefty yesterday, he will not be in the lineup today. Instead, Andres Chaparro will play first base. James Wood will take Chaparro’s spot at DH. The outfield will consist of the struggling duo of Daylen Lile and Jacob Young, as well as Dylan Crews. As mentioned, Cade Cavalli will take the ball tonight.

.@benaffleck @/mattdamon

→ https://t.co/M7AONBLYL5pic.twitter.com/QEvrj6Js4f

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 30, 2026

The Red Sox are only making one personnel change. Romy Gonzalez will be in the DH spot instead of Masataka Yoshida. Interestingly, Anthony Seigler will be in the leadoff spot for them. Willson Contreras is a name to watch after he homered and then was later ejected yesterday. Former UVA pitcher Connelly Early will be on the mound today.

Game 2 coming your way. pic.twitter.com/OoBysFMrBw

— Red Sox (@RedSox) June 30, 2026

Game Info:

Stadium: Fenway Park

Time: 7:10 PM EST

TV: Nationals.TV

Radio: 106.7 The Fan

The Nats will look to stay above .500 in what is a relatively important game. They have not been quite as convincing lately, so a big win would be nice. With Payton Tolle on the mound tomorrow, this might be their best shot at a win this series as well. Follow along in the comments down below and let’s go Nats!

The eyes of the baseball world turn to the Bronx tonight, with a two-time defending Cy Young winner taking on the odds-on favorite for this year’s award. Cam Schlittler will look to outduel Tarik Skubal and halt this five-game losing streak the Yankees are on, and if the offense can respond they way the team did when they last saw Skubal, they stand a good chance to.

Skubal hasn’t been quite his unhittable self for most of the year, and continues to work his way back from elbow surgery earlier this spring. A 3.32 ERA is nothing to sneeze at, and a brilliant walk rate means his FIP is even lower than that, but the Yankees knocked him for three home runs last week at Comerica Park. The club has seen a lot of left handed pitching lately, and stacking their lineup with as many righties as they can find certainly paid off against Skubal last time. A repeat performance would go a long way to tying up this series.

As for Cam Schlittler, one wonders how happy he is about Amed Rosario being back at third base tonight. Remember that it was Rosario’s error on what should have been a double play Friday night that led to four runs being scored on Cam. All four were unearned and so he retains the inside track on the AL ERA title (he’s running a 1.62, almost a full run better than Drew Rasmussen), but those extra pitches limited his night and those runs could very well have cost him and the team a win.

Cody Bellinger is the most notable name missing from the team’s starting lineup tonight. The versatile usual-cleanup hitter has struggled over the past two weeks, managing just a 92 wRC+ although still able to provide plus value defensively. He gets the day off with Max Schuemann, Spencer Jones, and Jasson Domínguez left to right in the outfield. José Caballero will get the start at second with Jazz Chisholm Jr. off after that midgame collision with the Martian last night. Clearly, Skubal is not exactly facing Murderers’ Row today, so the pressure will be on Cam to keep the Tigers down in turn.

Do note this is the weekly Amazon Prime game.

How to watch

Location: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

First pitch: 7:05 pm ET

TV broadcast: Amazon Prime Video, Detroit SportsNet

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY) | WXYT 97.1 FM (DET)

Streaming: MLB.TV (out-of-market only)

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

Cam on the bump. #RepBXpic.twitter.com/lBet6HUfbz

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 30, 2026

Skub Day

⚾️ 7:05 PM ET
📺 @WatchDSN
📻 @971theticketxyt
🏟️ Yankee Stadium pic.twitter.com/Ec9XKk19Cv

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) June 30, 2026

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Astros will play the middle game of their three-game series against the visiting Twins tonight at Daikin Park.

RHP Mike Burrows (3-8) will make his team-leading 16th start of the season tonight opposite the Twins and their ace RHP Joe Ryan (5-4).

ABOUT BURROWS: RHP Mike Burrows is coming off a strong start his last time out on June 24 at Toronto, in which he worked 6.0 innings, allowing one run on two hits and one walk.

Burrows has been a durable starter in his first season in Houston, as he leads the Astros in starts (15) and innings (85.1).

He joined the club from the Pirates this offseason as part of a three-team, six-player trade in which the Astros sent OF Jacob Melton and minor leaguer RHP Anderson Brito to the Rays, while the Rays sent IF Brandon Lowe, OF Jake Mangum and LHP Mason Montgomery to the Pirates.

THE SLOW TURNAROUND: After a slow start to the season, the Astros are 22-14 since May 21, which is the best record in the AL in that span.

On that date, the Astros were 20-31, 11 games under, which is their low water mark for the season.

RECENT ‘STROS: The Astros have won five of seven, six of nine, and are 9-4 in their last 13 games.

The Astros 15-11 record in June ties as the best in the AL, along with their rival Rangers.

SERIES-LY SPEAKING: The Astros have won five consecutive series dating back to June 12, posting a 11-5 record in those games.

The last time the Astros won five straight series was from June 20- July 6 of last season (went 12-3 in that stretch).

WINNING THE CLOSE CALLS: The Astros are 9-5 in one-run games and 18-10 in two-run games.

Each of the Astros last six wins and 11 of their last 12 victories have come by two-or-fewer runs.

PEN PALS: Since May 15 the Astros are 25-17 thanks in part to their bullpen, which has posted the lowest ERA in the AL in that span at 2.62 (45ER/154.2P).

They’ve been led by their lefties since that date with LHP Josh Hader (0.75 ERA), LHP Bryan King (2.25 ERA) and LHP Steven Okert (2.29 ERA) all posting low ERAs.

GET ‘EM EARLY: The Astros lead the AL in 1st inning runs with 60 runs scored in their 87 games.

Overall, the Astros rank fifth in the American League in runs scored (391), with their opponent tonight, the Twins, leading the AL in runs (417).

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Astros dropped the opener of their six-game homestand last night by a score of 5-4 to the visiting Twins.

Houston made it close late, scoring three runs in the 9th on a pair of back-to-back homers by CF Taylor Trammell (2×4, HR, 2RBI) and RF Cam Smith (2×4, 2HR, 2RBI).

RHP Peter Lambert (4ER/5.2IP) started for Houston and was handed the loss, snapping his four-game winning streak.

RHP Miguel Ullola (0ER/2IP) made his Major League debut in relief, working 2.0 scoreless frames.

TODAY’S ROSTER MOVE: The Astros have placed IF Jeremy Peña on the 10-day IL with a left calf strain and have recalled IF Raynel Delgado from Triple A Sugar Land.

OUT ON ASSIGNMENT: The Astros have several players out on minor league rehab assignments and are adding to that group today.

OF LaMonte Wade Jr. (right hamstring strain) will begin a minor league rehab assignment tonight for Triple A Sugar Land in their series opener at OKC.

RHP Hayden Wesneski (right elbow surgery) began his minor league rehab assignment today for the FCL Astros, tossing 3.0 scoreless innings.

MVP-CALIBER: DH Yordan Alvarez has had a torrid first half to his season, currently leading all of baseball in OPS (1.031), OBP (.424), SLG (.607) and total bases (185).

Additionally, he ranks tied for first in the AL in homers (25) and extra-base hits (41), while ranking second in batting average (.308), tied for second in hits (94), third in runs (58), fourth in walks (58), and tied for fifth in RBI (56).

ALL-STAR UPDATE: DH Yordan Alvarez has been named a finalists for the 2026 KONAMI eBaseball MLB All-Star Ballot with second-phase fan voting available now through Thursday, July 2 at 11 a.m. CT.

Alvarez has been an All-Star three times thus far in his career.

Since 2017, the Astros 37 All-Star selections are tops in the AL in that span.

ASTROS-TWINS: Tonight is the 100th regular season game between the Astros and Twins in their franchise histories, with Houston owning the all-time advantage with a 52-47 record.

There are several connections between the two clubs including both team’s catchers, with C Victor Caratini spending his last two seasons (2024-25) in Houston and C Christian Vázquez spending his last three years (2023-25) in Minnesota.

ROAD WARRIORS: With their win on Sunday in Detroit, the Astros completed a seven-game road trip with a 5-2 record after stops in Toronto (2-1) and Detroit (3-1).

The Astros are 15-8 in their last three road trips combined and are 21-14 on the road since going 1-9 on their first road trip of the 2026 season.

ON THE RADIO: The Astros English radio broadcast on KBME SportsTalk 790 for this series will feature Steve Sparks and Garrett Greene, who’s subbing for Robert Ford.

Green currently serves as the Triple A Sugar Land Space Cowboys Media Relations Manager and Radio Broadcaster.

DOWN AT TRIPLE A: The Astros have several players performing great down at Triple A Sugar Land, including RHP Ethan Pecko and IF Cavan Biggio.

In June, Pecko has gone 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA (2ER/24IP) in four games, while Biggio has hit .321 (26×81) with nine extra-base hits, a .476 OBP and a 1.032 OPS in 21 games in June.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Tuesday, June 30, 7:10 p.m. CT

Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX

TV: Space City Home Network

Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)

Keep going.

⚾️: 7:10 PM
🏟️: Closed
📺: @SpaceCityHN
🎙️: @SportsTalk790 & 740 AM | Spanish: 102.9 HD2#ChaseTheFight x @reliantenergypic.twitter.com/cFZXtfetvw

— Houston Astros (@astros) June 30, 2026

Hey guys 👋

📺 https://t.co/7owDbqKlDapic.twitter.com/FIoDzLCmEH

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) June 30, 2026

Here’s the Rangers lineup:

deGrom day #AllForTXpic.twitter.com/TG1KcdkFTO

— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) June 30, 2026

Here’s the Guardians lineup:

As they say in Texas: "HERE WE GOOOO!"#GuardsBallpic.twitter.com/BrZ4mGBgOF

— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) June 30, 2026

Let’s go, Guardians!