TONIGHT’S GAME: The first-place Astros, who own a slim 2.0-game lead in the AL West, will host the Angels tonight for the rubber game of their three-game series at Daikin Park.
RHP Peter Lambert (8-6), the Astros most consistent starter this season, will get the start for Houston opposite RHP Grayson Rodriguez (3-5) and the Angels.
THE LAMBO: RHP Peter Lambert leads the club in wins (8), starts (21), innings (118.2) and strikeouts (117) among AL pitchers with at least 115 IP, Lambert ranks seventh in opponent average (.208) and eighth in ERA.
A minor league signing by Houston this offseason, Lambert pitched last year for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows in the NPB, posting a 3.98 ERA (55ER/124.1IP) with 111 strikeouts in 23 starts.
THE TURNAROUND: After a slow start to the season, the Astros are 44-32 since May 22, which is the second-best record in the AL in that span.
On that date, the Astros were 20-31, 11 games under, which is their low water mark for the season.
THAT’S OFFENSIVE: Among American League teams, the Astros rank first in slugging (.411), first in total bases (1755), second in home runs (170), third in runs scored (580), and fourth in OPS (.728).
In the Majors, the Astros rank third in homers, trailing only the Nationals (182) and Yankees (173).
VS. THE ANGELS: The Astros are 7-5 against the Angels and have won their sixth straight season series vs. the Angels (2021-26).
The Astros 145-93 (.609) all-time record against the Angels is their best against any single opponent in club history.
TONIGHT’S RADIO BROADCASTS: The Astros English radio broadcast can be heard on SportsTalk
790 featuring Robert Ford and Brian Bogusevic.
The Spanish radio broadcast will feature Francisco Romero and Alex Treviño on TUDN 102.9 FM.
WINSDAY NIGHT: The Astros earned a much-needed victory last night with a 3-2 win over the Angels.
RHP Ethan Pecko (2ER/3.2IP) made his MLB debut before giving way to a dominant Astros bullpen that tossed 5.1 scoreless innings.
C Christian Vázquez (1×2, HR) hit a solo homer, but the biggest swing came off the bat of RF Cam Smith (0x2, RBI), who drove in the go-ahead run with a sac fly.
STARTING BLOCKS: The Astros used their 17th different starting pitcher of the season last night in RHP Ethan Pecko, who made his Major League debut.
Their 17 starters used are the most by any Major League team this season and ties as their franchise record, also reached by the 1965 Astros.
MVP-CALIBER: Yordan Alvarez holds the lead in all AL Triple Crown categories, ranking first in average(.317), first in HR (36) and first in RBI (88).
Additionally, he leads MLB in OPS (1.040), OBP (.430), SLG (.610), and TB (277)…in the AL, he ranks first in XBH (61), and second in hits (144), walks (86), and runs (83)
YOR-GONE!: DH Yordan Alvarez has hit 36 home runs this season, which leads the AL.
He’s just one homer shy of matching his career high in homers (37 HR in 2022) and is 11 homers shy of matching the franchise record for a single season, set by 1B Jeff Bagwell in 2000 (47 HR).
AUGUST HEROES: RF Cam Smith is hitting .340 (16×47) with four homers, nine RBI and a 1.020 OPS in 15 games this month.
2B Jose Altuve is also having a strong month, hitting .340 (18×53) with a .410 OBP and an .882 OPS in 15 games in August.
THE CLOSER: LHP Josh Hader made his 500th career appearance last night becoming the 15th active pitcher to reach that milestone.
Hader has been stellar since returning from injury in early June, going 4-1 with a 0.87 ERA (3ER/31IP), 41 strikeouts, a .123 opponent average (13×106) and a 0.77 WHIP, while also converting all 18 of his save opportunities in 32 appearances.
MY BOY BLU!: RHP A.J. Blubaugh has taken a commanding Major League lead in innings pitched as a reliever with 78.0, far ahead of second-place LHP Adrian Morejon (68IP).
The Astros have not had a reliever lead the Majors in innings pitched since RHP Doug Jones (111.2IP) in 1992.
THROWING STRIKES: LHP Steven Okert walked a batter in a scoreless inning last night, snapping
a streak of 22 consecutive appearances and 22.0 innings pitched without a strikeout (June 28-Aug. 16).
Per Elias, Okert’s streak of 22.0 consecutive innings without a walk is the fifth-longest by a reliever in a single season in club history.
ON THE MEND: RHP Mike Burrows (rt. elbow neuritis) is scheduled to make another rehab start for Triple A Sugar Land tonight in their home game vs. OKC.
Burrows last pitched on Aug. 14 at Triple A, working 4.1 scoreless innings, allowing three hits with three strikeouts on 67 pitches (43 strikes).itting .347 (17×49) with a .421 OBP and an .890 OPS in 14 games in August.
DOWN ON THE FARM: Several of the Astros minor league clubs are having success this season:
• Triple A Sugar Land: In the second half, the Space Cowboys (32-15) are in first in the PCL East Division.
• Class A Fayetteville: For the second half, the Woodpeckers are in first place in the South Atlantic League North Division with a 28-20 (.583) record.
• Rookie Level FCL Astros: The Astros won the Florida Complex League championship, finishing with a 42-11 (.792) record in the regular season.
• Rookie Level DSL Astros: The DSL Astros Orange finished with a 33-20 record and clinched a spot in the DSL playoffs, which began today.
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Thursday, August 20, 7:10 p.m. CT
Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX
TV: Space City Home Network
Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)
Astros-Angels finale: pic.twitter.com/1ZjwtM9Ej3
— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) August 20, 2026Angels at Astros.
The Angels haven’t won a road series since May. Will it happen today?
Grayson Rodriguez starting. pic.twitter.com/Td8QWric39
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