Jeremy Peña may have avoided the IL to start the 2026 season, but he won’t be in the Opening Day lineup as he continues to work his way back from a fractured finger that occurred in the World Baseball Classic.
In other words, the Astros decided that a ten-day IL stint wasn’t necessary for Peña, but he will need a bit more time to get ready for his 2026 debut. With that update, we’ll see Isaac Paredes hitting third and playing third base later this afternoon. Jose Altuve will be back at second base, hitting leadoff. Yordan Alvarez will hit in between them as the designated hitter. Carlos Correa will hit cleanup and play shortstop in Peña’s absence. Joey Loperfido and Cam Smith follow, hitting fifth and sixth as the left and right fielders. Interestingly, Christian Walker is hitting seventh, a spot in the order where he had only 21 plate appearances last season. And Yainer Díaz is catching, hitting eighth. Jake Meyers rounds things out, hitting ninth as the starting center fielder.
Hunter Brown gets the starting nod, to no great surprise. A finalist for the AL Cy Young in 2025, the right-hander is the best starter on Houston’s staff, and his success will have a great bearing on the fortunes of this season.
The Angels will counter with right-hander José Soriano, with some familiar names throughout the lineup.
Come join your fellow TLA readers in watching and discussing Opening Day, by joining the Launch Angle’s Discord server! Just use this link to join: https://discord.gg/DKXDJw9qF. For those of you who have participated in gamethreads at other site(s) in the past, you’ll probably recognize some familiar names and fellow Astros fans. (Just please say hello once you join, so we know you’re not a bot.)
ASTROS:
- Watch: Space City Home Network
- Listen: KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2, KLTN-TUDN 102.9 FM
ANGELS:
- Watch: FanDuel Sports Network West
- Listen on: KLAA 830
Feature photo from @astros on X, Source Link.
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