Jeremy

Peña

No real changes for the Astros, with the exception of Alvarez heading out to left field with Isaac Paredes moving to DH and Nick Allen entering at third base, as they try to stave off elimination and force a decisive Game 3 showdown. Here’s the full lineup: Jeremy Peña (SS), Alvarez (LF), Paredes (DH), Jose Altuve (2B), Yainer Diaz (C), Christian Walker (1B), Lucas Spence (CF), Cam Smith (RF) and Allen (3B).

The win keeps the Astros in control of their own destiny in advance of Sunday’s finale. If they win, they’re in, and if they lose, they could still advance with a loss from the Rangers. Peña, who had been slumping of late, turned in his sixth career two-homer game. It’s the first time ever that he’s scored four runs. He’ll take a .276/.325/.477 line into Sunday’s finale.

Peña has gone 1-for-10 in a pair of contests since being hit by a pitch on the right wrist earlier this week. The 29-year-old technically didn’t end up missing any games since he entered Wednesday’s game as a pinch-runner. However, the issue seems to be impacting him at the dish. The Astros enter their final two regular-season games in a virtual tie with the Rangers for the AL West division title. Neither team will finish above .500 for the season, but someone technically has to make the playoffs.

It’s a significant loss for the Astros after Peña was drilled by a pitch on the right wrist during Tuesday’s series-opening win over Seattle that put them back in the driver’s seat in the AL West division race. The positive news is that X-rays came back negative for any fractures. Peña appears to have avoided a serious injury, but he’ll likely need some time off for the pain and swelling to subside before he’s ready to return. It’ll be defensive specialist Nick Allen taking over at shortstop and hitting ninth in his absence.

Peña was hit in the right wrist/forearm after checking his swing. He stated in to run and scored on a Yordan Alvarez homer but was then replaced by Nick Allen.

Peña wasted no time getting his squad on the board in this one, launching Seth Lugo’s very first pitch for a 394-foot (103.9-mph EV) solo shot that tied the game at 1-1. He also added on with an RBI single in the sixth inning. The 28-year-old is having a terrific season at the dish, slashing .279/.330/.478 with 20 homers, 51 RBI and nine stolen bases in only 442 plate appearances.

Peña did his part in this game with hits in his first three plate appearances, but his teammates didn’t hold up their end of the bargain as no one was on base to drive in and no one brought him home. He now has a .277 batting average and .799 OPS which are downgrades from last season despite being solid marks for the 28-year-old shortstop.

Peña put the Astros on the board right away, taking Michael Wacha deep for a solo homer to lead off the bottom of the first inning. He did it again in the third, hitting his second solo homer off Wacha in as many at-bats. After getting on with a single in the fifth, he scored a third run on a two-run homer by Yordan Alvarez. The 28-year-old shortstop is hitting .273/.325/.465 with 19 homers, 73 runs scored, 49 RBI, and nine steals across 434 plate appearances.

Peña took Zac Thornton deep in the first inning for his 17th homer of the campaign. He added a single while helping build their lead in the American League West. The 28-year-old has struggled to hit for average in August with a .191 average coming into Sunday, but this was his fifth homer of the month.

Peña took a Gerrit Cole pitch off the knuckles, but he remained in and finished the game against the Yankees.