Jeremy

Peña

It’s a bit unclear whether Peña underwent X-rays already, but he appears to have avoided serious injury after taking a 100-mph sinker from Angels starter Walbert Ureña off his right hand in the first inning. The 28-year-old shortstop came into this contest hitting .278 (32-for-115) with eight homers and 18 RBI in 27 games since last month’s All-Star break. There should be some additional clarity on his status leading into Thursday’s series finale.

Peña took a 100 mph sinker from Angels starter Walbert Ureña off his right hand in the first inning, but managed to remain in the contest initially. He was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the third inning. The 28-year-old shortstop has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball during the second half. He’ll presumably head for imaging to determine whether he suffered any fractures. There should be an update on his status following the contest.

Peña now has 11 home runs on the season. He hit a pair of solo shots off Erick Fedde with one coming in the first inning and the other coming in the third inning. Peña has been on a power surge lately and now has five home runs in his last six games. He’s hitting .319 with an .877 OPS and 30 RBI.

Peña’s slam off Janson Junk gave the Astros a 5-2 in the second, and Yordan Alvarez made it back-to-back shots afterwards. Peña’s homer was his seventh in 54 games during an injury-plagued season. He was back in the lineup tonight after leaving Saturday and missing Sunday’s game due to a hamstring cramp.

Peña is back at shortstop and hitting leadoff following a brief one-game absence due to a right hamstring cramp. The 28-year-old has been limited to just 53 games this season due to an avalanche of injuries, so he was probably overdue to catch a break. Still, fantasy managers should keep a close eye on his health for the remainder of the week.

Asked about Peña and Chrsitian Walker (hip) after the game, Astros manager Joe Espada said he is hopeful “one of the two can play tomorrow, hopefully both of them.”

The good news is that Peña feels much improved after exiting Saturday’s game with a right hamstring cramp and isn’t expected to require a trip to the injured list. Nick Allen will start in his place at shortstop and will bat ninth for the Astros against Brandon Young and the Orioles on Sunday afternoon in Houston.

The Astros lost both Peña and Christian Walker (hip) to injury during Saturday’s game. The shortstop will likely undergo more evaluation, but if it’s just cramping, there’s a good chance he’s back in the lineup relatively soon, even if he misses Sunday’s finale against Baltimore.

It appears to be a right leg injury for Peña. The shortstop has been replaced by Nick Allen at shortstop. It’s likely that Peña will undergo further testing to determine the severity of the issue, but either way, further updates should be available shortly.

Peña started this game with a leadoff walk and came around to score immediately after when Yordan Alvarez doubled him home. He then singled to start the third and quickly came around to score again. He’d work his way into scoring position again in both the seventh and ninth, but wound up stranded both times. A couple of injuries have overshadowed a solid year from Peña so far with a .293/.357/.429 slash line, six home runs, and eight stolen bases across 52 games.