Houston

Astros

It was a forgettable start for Teng, starting with a pair of runs in the first inning on a bases-loaded hit batter and a groundout. The Angels would get to him for five more runs in the second inning, including a pair of two-run doubles by Wade Meckler and Jo Adell. Teng would hang on for two more scoreless frames, ending his day after four innings with five strikeouts. The 27-year-old right-hander will take a 3.71 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and a 49/24 K/BB ratio across 51 innings into a start against the Tigers in Houston next Tuesday.

Diaz has been sidelined since May 4th with an oblique strain, and Javier has been out since April 8th with a shoulder strain. Diaz will likely need to make a handful of starts behind the plate before being activated, but that could come by early next week. Javier will likely need until at least early July before he becomes an option for the Astros’ rotation.

With Lamonte Wade Junior landing on the injured list, the Astros will turn back to Loperfido to fill the role as a left-handed bat in the outfield. Loperfido was put on the injured list with a strained quad back on April 17th and then was sent to the minors once he was activated.

Wade made an immediate impact on the Astros, going 4-for-12 with a home run in his first four games with the team before injurint his hamstring while running the bases. He will likely miss a few weeks and could return to a regular role in the outfield provided the Astros don’t trade for another hitter between now and his return.

There has been some speculation that the Astros could look to trade Alvarez at the deadline this year if they continue to fall out of playoff contention. The idea behind the speculation was that Alvarez would bring in a huge influx of talent for a roster that seems to lack depth, and it would rid the Astros of a defensive logjam created by Alvarez’s being a designated hitter. However, as Brown mentioned, Alvarez is in the fourth year of a six-year, $115 million extension, so there is no pressure on the Astros to trade him. They traded Kyle Tucker when he was heading into his final season, so there may be more reason to trade Alvarez after the 2027 season, if they followed the same path, but he’s not going anywhere for now.

The go-ahead run scored on a popup behind second after Jose Altuve tagged from third and Logan O’Hoppe whiffed on the throw home. Hader got five missed swings on his 12 pitches in a tie game tonight. In three appearances since coming off the IL, he has one win, one save and seven strikeouts in three hitless innings.

The runs all came in the second inning, when Arrighetti hit a batter and issued two of his four walks. It’s the sixth time in 10 starts this season that he’s walked four batters. He’s an incredible 7-1 with a 2.21 ERA anyway, but there isn’t much reason to think he’ll be a top starter going forward, given that he’s always been wild and that he’s just average in terms or recording strikeouts. He’ll face the Royals next.

This likely would have been a blown save, but the antsy Angels just couldn’t resist sending automatic runner Mike Trout home on Jose Siri’s single to open the bottom of the 10th. Trout was thrown out, and Abreu then struck out Jo Adell before Denzer Guzman’s liner to center, which surely would have been a sac fly with one out, was caught to end the game. It’s Abreu’s fourth save, but he isn’t in line for many more with Josh Hader back.

Wade suffered the apparent injury while legging out a run-scoring double in the sixth inning and left the field with a trainer. He finished 1-for-2 with an RBI and one walk. The 32-year-old signed a one-year deal with the Astros last week and was playing in just his fourth game with the club. There should be an update on his status after the contest.

Whitcomb gets the call to replace an injured Nick Allen (hamstring) on Houston’s bench. The versatile 27-year-old has gone 2-for-17 with one round-tripper and four RBI in 14 games at the big-league level this season. He’s always been an intriguing talent, and has posted some huge power/speed combo numbers at the Triple-A level, but it’s never really come together at the highest level.