Taylor

Trammell

Trammell drew a one-out walk in the sixth inning and raced around to score on a two-out single off the bat of Jeremy Peña. He then slugged a 359-foot (106.4-mph EV) solo shot off of Alex Lange in the eighth that extended the Astros’ lead to 6-2. Overall on the season, he’s now hitting .206/.295/.366 with eight homers and 22 RBI in 269 plate appearances.

Trammell is back after two days away and is starting in left field and batting seventh against the Royals tonight.

Trammell will be away from the club for a couple days on paternity leave. He’s operated in a platoon role for the Astros, seeing action against most right-handed starters in an outfield corner.

It’s definitely not looking good for Smith at the moment, though a couple of nice games could always change things. It’s not like Trammell or Wade is hitting, and Smith is the best defensive outfielder of the three.

Trammell played a pivotal role in breaking a late-game stalemate by rocketing a 411-foot fly ball off the right-center field wall at Oracle Park. He came around to score to eventual game-winning run on a sacrifice fly from ensuing batter Nick Allen. It was his lone hit of the contest, but it came at the perfect moment for the Astros, who find themselves sitting atop the AL West division.

Trammell’s home run was his seventh of the year. He pummeled a high fastball from Michael King over the wall in right-center in the second inning. Trammell was pinch hit for in the seventh inning when the Padres brought in left-handed reliever Adrian Morejon with two men on and two outs. He’s hitting .236 with a .742 OPS and 20 RBI this year.

Trammell got his ninth start in a row on Tuesday. He drew a walk and scored a run in the fourth inning before giving the Astros a four-run lead with a three-run blast off Chad Dallas in the fifth. The 28-year-old outfielder is hitting .238/.327/.411 with six homers, 23 runs scored, 19 RBI, and three steals across 172 plate appearances.

Trammell homered in the fourth for the lone run off Walbert Ureña. The Astros were then pretty quiet until the ninth, which opened with Trammell getting hit by a pitch. Despite collecting just one hit, the Astros went on to score four times in the frame, thanks in part to two errors and an a second HBP. Trammell’s homer was his fifth. He’s batting .242/.337/.414 in 143 plate appearances as he fights for time in Houston’s outfield.

The Astros had done nothing against Troy Melton to that point in the game, as Melton had retired the first 16 batters that he faced in order before Trammell crushed an 0-1 fastball for a 422-foot (110.5-mph EV) solo shot that gave the Astros a lead they’d never relinquish. Trammell finished the night 1-for-2 and is now hitting .280/.337/.439 with two homers and nine RBI in 82 at-bats with the Astros this season.

Paredes has been struggling of late, hitting .164 (9-for-55) with three homers and five RBI over his last 15 games. Astros manager Joe Espada has opted to move him down in the order after mostly hitting second in recent weeks. It’ll be red-hot sluggers Yordan Alvarez and Christian Walker moving up to second and third in the order to pick up a few additional at-bats with Taylor Trammell moving into the cleanup spot.