Astros keep winning despite injuries, seek series victory vs. Rockies

The Houston Astros are getting unhappy injury updates on a daily basis, but it hasn't stopped them from winning.

Houston built on its impressive 19-win June with a 6-5 victory against the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night in Denver in the opener of a three-game series.

The Astros will try to make it two straight against the Rockies on Wednesday night when they send right-hander Hunter Brown (8-3, 1.74 ERA) to the mound against Colorado left-hander Austin Gomber (0-1, 6.14).

Not all the news is good for Houston, however. Shortstop Jeremy Pena went on the injured list with a rib fracture and slugger Yordan Alvarez's rehab was shut down due to soreness in his fractured right hand.

It is the second setback for Alvarez, who has been out since May 2. He is scheduled to see a hand specialist.

"It's a tough pill to swallow but at the end of the day his health is the most important thing here," Astros general manager Dana Brown said. "And so, we'll let him take the time that he needs to get completely healed. At this point, the team is playing very well. We're (17) games over .500, we're (seven games) up in the division, and so we'll take our time and let him continue to heal."

The Astros have won seven of their past eight heading into Wednesday's game and send the majors' leader in ERA against a scuffling Rockies team. Brown has faced Colorado twice in his career, going 1-1 with a 3.18 ERA in those outings.

His loss came in his lone start in Denver on July 18, 2023, when he allowed four runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings of a 4-3 defeat.

Gomber will make his fourth start of the season after coming off the 60-day injured due to left shoulder soreness. He tossed five scoreless innings in his season debut at Atlanta on June 15 but was roughed up in his second start. Arizona got to him for nine runs in 4 2/3 innings but he rebounded to give up just one run in five frames against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday. He didn't figure into the decision of the 3-1 loss.

He has faced Houston four times in his career and is 1-3 with a 5.55 ERA.

The Rockies continued their youth movement with the call up of their No. 5 prospect, outfielder Yanquiel Fernandez, on Tuesday. He didn't play in the opener against the Astros but when he does get into a game, he will be the ninth Colorado player to make his major league debut this season.

He earned his chance after playing well in Triple-A Albuquerque. He hit .284 with 13 home runs and 39 RBIs in 63 games with the Isotopes, and his last home run was a 473-foot bomb at Las Vegas on Sunday.

"We are going to give him opportunities after his hot June, and I'm looking forward to it," interim manager Warren Schaeffer said. "Big power, big arm, good defender. He's just 22 years old. The sky's the limit for him."

--Field Level Media