Dubon (thumb) isn't in the Astros' lineup Saturday against the Diamondbacks, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Dubon was taken out of Friday's game early due to a jammed left thumb, and while the injury is considered minor, the Astros will hold him out of Saturday's contest just to be safe.
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Astros' Kyle Tucker: Idle Saturday
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Tucker isn't in Houston's lineup for Saturday's game against the Diamondbacks, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Tucker went 0-for-2 with a walk and a HBP on Friday in what was his first game in over three months, and he'll now take a seat Saturday as the Astros ease him back into big-league action. Chas McCormick, Jake Meyers and Ben Gamel will act as Houston's outfield trio while Tucker rests.
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Astros' Jon Singleton: Absent from lineup
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Singleton isn't in the Astros' lineup for Saturday's game against the Diamondbacks, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Singleton will get a breather Saturday after going 3-for-15 with two home runs and three RBI across his last five games. In his absence, Yainer Diaz will cover first base while Victor Caratini starts behind the dish and bats sixth.
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Astros' Yordan Alvarez: Goes yard twice in win
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Alvarez went 2-for-4 with two home runs and six RBI in Friday's 8-0 win over the Diamondbacks.
The slugger connected for a three-run shot off Brandon Pfaadt in the fifth inning before launching another one off Jordan Montgomery just one frame later. The multi-homer performance was Alvarez's seventh of the season, tying the Astros' franchise record set by Chris Carter in 2014. Three of those power displays have come in the last nine games, a stretch in which Alvarez is batting .382 (13-for-34) with seven homers and 12 RBI.
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Astros' Framber Valdez: Blanks Arizona for 14th win
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Valdez (14-6) picked up the win in Friday's 8-0 rout of the Diamondbacks, allowing two hits and three walks over seven scoreless innings. He struck out seven.
Valdez has now held the opposition scoreless three times in his last four trips to the mound. The southpaw has been nearly untouchable since the beginning of August, giving up only 15 hits in 41 innings over his last six starts en route to a 1.32 ERA, 0.66 WHIP and 45:12 K:BB. Valdez will look to stay dominant in his next outing, which is scheduled to come at home next week against the Athletics.
Astros' Mauricio Dubon: Suffers minor thumb injury
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Dubon jammed his left thumb in Friday's game against the Diamondbacks, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Dubon hurt his thumb sliding into first base late in the game and was removed after going 3-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. He had X-rays after the contest that came back clean, and he told reporters that he will be fine. Dubon may be unavailable Saturday, but a stint on the injured list seems unlikely.
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Astros' Ronel Blanco: Available out of bullpen
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Blanco will be available out of the bullpen for this weekend's series against the Diamondbacks, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.
Manager Joe Espada confirmed, however, that the Astros will be returning to a six-man rotation following Monday's team off day, which means Blanco will be back in the rotation next weekend in Anaheim. Chances are, the right-hander will return to the bullpen for the postseason, but with Houston not having another day off after Monday until Sept. 26, Blanco could perhaps make two more starts before the end of the campaign. He's already thrown a career-high 148.1 innings in 2024.
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Astros' Alex Bregman: Takes seat Friday
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Bregman is not in Friday's lineup against the Diamondbacks.
With Kyle Tucker (shin) rejoining the lineup, Bregman will get a day off as Mauricio Dubon handles the hot corner. Bregman returned Wednesday after missing four games with an elbow injury, and perhaps he will still need the occasional maintenance day down the stretch.
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Astros' Parker Mushinski: Cast off 40-man
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Mushinski was designated for assignment Friday.
The move clears a spot on the 40-man roster for Kyle Tucker (shin) to be activated from the 60-day injured list. Mushinski, a 28-year-old lefty reliever, logged a 6.55 ERA and more walks (five) than strikeouts (three) in 11 innings across 10 appearances with the big club this season.
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Astros' Zach Dezenzo: Dispatched to Triple-A
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Dezenzo was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday.
Dezenzo had a max exit velocity of 109.1 mph and hit one homer in 55 plate appearances with the big club, but he was largely overmatched. The hulking 6-foot-4 corner infielder hit .212 with a 32.7 percent strikeout rate and a 5.5 percent walk rate while playing sparingly after an Aug. 6 promotion.
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Astros' Kyle Tucker: Back as DH on Friday
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Tucker (shin) was activated from the 60-day injured list Friday and is batting fourth as the designated hitter against the Diamondbacks.
Make sure to get Tucker into daily and weekend lineups. The 27-year-old missed just over three months after suffering a fractured shin June 3 that was originally reported to be a contusion.
Brown did not factor into the decision Thursday against Cincinnati, allowing four hits and one walk over six scoreless innings. He struck out six.
Brown kept the Reds off the board over six innings Thursday and came away with his third straight no-decision in a quality start. After having an 8.89 ERA through seven starts this season, Brown was asked to pitch in relief and pitched well enough that he was given another chance in the rotation, and he hasn't looked back since. Including that relief outing May 11, Brown has a 2.25 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in his last 125.2 innings.
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Astros' Ronel Blanco: Turn in rotation skipped
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The Astros are skipping Blanco's next turn in the rotation, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Blanco had been on turn to start Sunday against the Diamondbacks, but Justin Verlander will move up to take the ball on regular rest that day instead. Houston has an upcoming stretch of 16 games without an off day later this month, and they plan to return Blanco to the rotation sometime during that stretch. However, it's anticipated the righty will eventually move to the bullpen on a permanent basis prior to the postseason.
Astros' Kyle Tucker: Hoping to be activated Friday
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Astros manager Joe Espada said Thursday that the hope is Tucker (shin) will be activated from the 60-day injured list Friday, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Tucker is with the team in Cincinnati and has been going through pregame workouts. The Astros are gauging how he bounces back from those workouts before determining whether he's ready to return to the active roster. Barring a surprise, it sounds like Tucker should finally be back this weekend. He's been shelved since early June with a right shin fracture.
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Astros' Alex Bregman: Doubles in return
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Bregman went 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored Wednesday against the Reds.
Bregman returned from a four-game absence with a lingering elbow injury. He led off the second inning with a double and came around to score. Bregman was ultimately pulled in the fifth inning with the Astros down 10-1.
