Astros vs. A’s Game Discussion: 8/21/2026

TONIGHT’S GAME: The first-place Houston Astros (64-64), who own a slim 1.0-game lead in the AL West over the Rangers, will open a huge three-game weekend series against the A’s (49-79) tonight at Daikin Park.

RHP Hayden Wesneski (2-1, 5.16 ERA) will make his fifth start of the season tonight and his first against the A’s, who are starting RHP J.T. Ginn (8-7, 3.53 ERA).

BIG WES: After missing 14 months with injury, RHP Hayden Wesneski has returned to the Astros rotation to make four starts, pitching into the 6th inning in three of four and recording two quality starts. This continues a strong run for Wesneski, who was great in his rehab outings, posting a 2.25 ERA (5ER/20IP) in five minor league rehab starts.

THE TURNAROUND: After a slow start to the season, the Astros are 44-33 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 (.410), first in total bases (1766), second in home runs (170), third in runs scored (583), and third in OPS (.727). In the Majors, the Astros rank third in homers, trailing only the Nationals (182) and Yankees (175).

WELCOME BACK JEFF!:2B Jeff Kent, who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in July, will throw out tonight’s ceremonial first pitch. Kent spent two (2003-04) of his 17 MLB seasons with the Astros, helping the 2004 Astros advance to the NLCS. Kent authored one of the most iconic moments in Astros postseason lore, as he hit a walk-off homer in Game 5 of the 2004 NLCS vs. STL.

ASTROS ROSTER MOVES: The Astros have recalled RHP Kai-Wei Teng from Triple A Sugar Land today after optioning LHP Bryan King to Triple A last night. also, announced yesterday, the club recalled IF Raynel Delgado from Triple A and designated OF Nelson Velázquez for assignment.

ON THE MEND: The Astros have four players on the Major League Injured List. There are updates on three:

• RHP Mike Burrows (rt. elbow neuritis) made his second rehab start at Triple A Sugar Land last night, tossing 4.2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks with five strikeouts on 78 pitches.

• IF Carlos Correa (lt. ankle tendon injury) is participating in baseball activity, including a hitting and a running progression.

• OF Brice Matthews (lt. knee sprain) is participating in on-field baseball activity and a running progression.

MVP-CALIBER: Yordan Alvarez holds the lead in all AL Triple Crown categories, ranking first in average (.319), first in HR (36) and first in RBI (88). Additionally, he leads MLB in OPS (1.045), OBP (.432), SLG (.613), and TB (279). In the AL, he ranks first in XBH (62), and second in hits (145), walks (87), and runs (84).

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, which was 37, hit in 2022.

HIT PAREDES: 3B Isaac Paredes has hit safely in nine of his last 12 games (since Aug. 7), including six multi-hit games, while batting .378 (17×45) with four doubles, one home run, seven RBI, and a .973 OPS in that span.

THE CLOSER: LHP Josh Hader has made 500 career appearances and is the 15th active pitcher to reach that milestone. Hader has been stellar since returning from injury in 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 converting all 18 of his save chances in 32 appearances.

VS. THE A’S: The Astros are 3-3 against the A’s this season but have not seen them in over two months since they took two of three games in Houston from June 5-7. After this series, the two clubs will match up for a four-game series in Sacramento to end the regular season from Sept. 24-27.

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 (33-15) 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 29-20 (.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 yesterday.

TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 1985 – Astros HOFer Phil Garner singles as a pinch-hitter in the Astros 8-3 loss to the Reds in the ‘Dome. This single gives Garner six straight hits in six straight AB as a pinch-hitter, which is a franchise record. Five other Astros have had streaks of five, most recently done by Morgan Ensberg in the 2003 season.

Game Info

Game Date/Time:  Friday, August 21, 7:10 p.m. CT

Location:  Daikin Park, Houston, TX

TV: Space City Home Network

Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; ESPN Radio (National); TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)