Jeremy Peña (calf) returns to Astros lineup Friday

Lance McCullers Jr. (shoulder) and Ronel Blanco (elbow) are scheduled to pitch in the same rehab contest. The 28-year-old shortstop hit the injured list with a mild calf strain last week and figures to return to Houston before next week’s All-Star break. He was just starting to really find his stride at the dish prior to the injury, hitting .319 (29-for-91) with three homers, 13 RBI and five steals in the month of June.

As expected, the Astros will stop playing shorthanded and give Peña a chance to recover off the active roster. The 28-year-old will be out for at least a week — Houston believes this should be a minimum state for the shortstop — and Raynel Delgado will take his spot on the active roster.

Espada added that it should be a minimum stint for Peña, who is headed back to the injured list for the second time this season, after an MRI showed a relatively mild calf strain that caused him to sit out Monday’s series opener against the Twins with leg discomfort. The 28-year-old shortstop has been on a tear at the plate recently, hitting .319 (29-for-91) with three homers, 13 RBI and five steals since the start of June. It’ll likely be defensive wizard Nick Allen handling the position in his absence.

Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters Peña will undergo further evaluation to determine the severity of the issue. There should be some additional clarity on his status after the contest. The 28-year-old shortstop has been on a tear at the plate recently, hitting .319 (29-for-91) with three homers, 13 RBI and five steals since the start of June. He’s presumably day-to-day for now. It’ll be Nick Allen filling in at shortstop in his return from the injured list on Monday night.

Peña tagged former Astros teammate Framber Valdez for an RBI single in the fourth inning before coming through with a clutch game-tying single to shallow center field against Tigers reliever Will Vest with two outs in the eighth. The 28-year-old shortstop recorded his fourth three-hit performance of the season and is now batting .298 with six homers, 21 RBI and eight steals through 47 games.

Peña singled off of Troy Melton with two outs in the sixth inning but was left stranded there. He then led off the ninth with a single off of Kenley Jansen, swiped second base, took third on a ground ball and scored a valuable insurance run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Isaac Paredes. On the season, the 28-year-old shortstop is now hitting .290/.356/.450 with six homers, 19 RBI and eight stolen bases in 188 plate appearances.

Peña provided an insurance run in the ninth with a slow roller that shortstop Ernie Clement failed to get to into time to prevent an infield single. Although Peña left Monday’s game with a hamstring cramp and didn’t start Tuesday, he seemed to be running just fine tonight. He’s 10-for-26 with three homers, seven RBI and two steals in his last eight games.

Peña is back at shortstop and hitting third after coming off the bench as a pinch-hitter during Tuesday’s contest. The 28-year-old didn’t end up missing any time at all after suffering a right hamstring cramp during Monday’s series opener.

Peña was held out of the starting lineup today after leaving Monday’s game with a hamstring cramp, but the Astros did say he was available off the bench. It seems likely that he’ll be in Wednesday’s lineup.

Peña is out of the lineup for Tuesday’s game as he recovers from a cramp in his hamstring, but the fact he’ll undergo a full workout suggests that this is precautionary. Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters that it’s possible Peña could be available off the bench, so assuming no setbacks, it seems likely the shortstop will be back in action in the next couple of days.