The Houston Astros managed to lose first place Monday without throwing a pitch.
Texas beat the Chicago White Sox to move to 66-66 and take a half-game lead in the American League West, leaving the Astros at 65-66 as they open a three-game series against the New York Yankees on Tuesday night.
So much for enjoying the off day.
The Astros arrive in New York reeling from three consecutive home series losses against the Mariners, Angels, and Athletics, a 3-6 homestand that finally cost them their tenuous grip on first place. They have lost six of their last eight games and now face the Yankees and Mets on a six-game trip before returning home.
And the standings aren’t the only source of turmoil. Manager Joe Espada missed Sunday’s finale because of a family emergency that bench coach Omar López said left him “heartbroken,” although Espada traveled to New York and is expected back in the dugout Tuesday. Then on Monday, the Astros and general manager Dana Brown abruptly agreed to part ways with 31 games remaining, leaving Jim Crane overseeing baseball operations while Brown’s responsibilities are divided among three assistant general managers and senior advisor Jeff Bagwell.
And now they have to play baseball.
Yordan Takes His Triple Crown Chase to the Bronx
Yordan Alvarez’s pursuit of the American League Triple Crown moves to a ballpark where he has historically done some serious damage. Alvarez is a career .318 hitter with 11 home runs and a 1.009 OPS in 35 games against the Yankees, but his numbers at Yankee Stadium are even better: a .313 average, nine home runs, and a 1.133 OPS in 18 games.
Those numbers add another wrinkle to an already important series for Alvarez, particularly as opposing teams become increasingly reluctant to pitch to him. He has already set a new Astros single-season record with 28 intentional walks, and Houston needs the hitters around him to make New York pay if the Yankees decide to follow the same approach.
Tuesday: Ethan Pecko vs. Will Warren
Ethan Pecko gets quite the assignment for his second major-league start: Yankee Stadium on his 24th birthday.
The rookie made his debut against the Angels last Wednesday, allowing two runs on three hits and three walks in 3⅔ innings. He struck out four but needed 89 pitches to record 11 outs. The Astros ultimately won 3-2 after the bullpen covered the remaining 5⅓ innings without allowing a run.
Pecko will face a Yankees team that enters the series at 74-56 and has won six of its last seven games. New York counters with right-hander Will Warren, who is 8-6 with a 4.43 ERA. Warren has struggled since the All-Star break, giving Houston an opportunity to get this trip started considerably better than the homestand ended.
For Pecko, getting deeper into the game would be particularly welcome. The Astros bullpen has been asked to absorb too many innings lately, and asking it to cover another five-plus innings in the opener would be less than ideal.
Wednesday: Peter Lambert vs. TBA
Peter Lambert gets the middle game for Houston, while the Yankees have yet to announce their starter.
Lambert enters with a 3.68 ERA, although his last outing was an ugly one. He allowed six runs in 3⅓ innings against Seattle during the Astros’ disastrous homestand.
That makes Wednesday an important opportunity for Lambert to get back to what he had been doing before that outing—and, once again, for an Astros starter to provide some length.
The Yankees’ uncertainty on the mound could make this look like the most inviting game of the series. After what happened during the last nine games at Daikin Park, however, Houston should know better than to consider any game particularly inviting.
Thursday: Hayden Wesneski vs. Gerrit Cole
Thursday’s finale has an unusual bit of symmetry: both starting pitchers will face their former teams, and both are back from Tommy John surgery.
Cole missed the entire 2025 season, but his return has been impressive. He enters Thursday’s start 7-6 with a 3.11 ERA and 100 strikeouts.
Hayden Wesneski is 3-1 with a 4.23 ERA and 22 strikeouts in five starts since returning to the Astros rotation. He was particularly sharp Friday against the Athletics, allowing just one hit over five scoreless innings while striking out four in Houston’s 4-0 win.
Cole spent only two seasons with the Astros, but they were extraordinary ones. He finished fifth in American League Cy Young voting in 2018 and second in 2019 before signing with New York.
Seven years later, Cole faces Houston again, while Wesneski takes the mound at the ballpark he once called home.
No More Wasted Opportunities
For weeks, the Astros squandered chance after chance to strengthen their position atop the AL West. On Monday, it finally cost them the division lead.
A half-game deficit with 31 games remaining is hardly a crisis by itself. The problem is everything that preceded it. The Astros had nine games at home against three division opponents and went 3-6. They finished the homestand by blowing a 6-0 lead against Oakland and now begin a stretch in which their remaining schedule is more difficult than those of their AL West rivals.
Christian Walker said Sunday that the Astros are better than they have been playing.
New York would be an excellent place to start proving it.
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