Here come the Houston Astros. Objects in the rearview mirror may be closer than they appear. That’s basically what’s happening with the Astros at the moment. A weak American League West division, where all five teams have losing records, has kept the season alive for Houston. What looked to be a disastrous season has suddenly shifted into positive momentum as the Astros have started to turn their fortunes around. Let’s take a look at the recent rush of Astros highlights.
Astros Highlights and Wins Piling Up After Slow Start
The injuries were devastating, and the pitching was poor. Those areas have improved after a series of roster moves earlier this month. The Astros just went through a grueling 10-game road trip and came out of it with seven wins. They were just 2 1/2 games behind in the American League West and had a 10-5 record going back to May 13 after the series at the Texas Rangers. Their overall record was 26-32 after the road trip, just six games under .500 for the first time in almost two months.
They are 14-13 overall in the month of May. While that included an impressive sweep of the Chicago Cubs, the two series against the Rangers have given the Astros that winning momentum. Houston just came off a four-game series in Arlington and won three of them. That might have been the best series win of the year, given the sheer amount of accomplishments and Astros highlights that were accomplished on both sides of the game.
The No-Hitter
The Astros threw their 18th no-hitter in franchise history on Monday in a 9-0 win. This was the fifth combined no-hitter in Astros history, which is the most ever in MLB. In historic fashion, it featured the debut of a lifetime. 23-year-old reliever Alimber Santa was just called up from Triple-A a few days prior and became just the second player all-time to make his debut as part of a no-hitter. Santa threw two perfect innings and closed it out as the Astros had MLB’s first no-hitter since Sept. 5, 2024.
Alvarez’s Ferocious Power Hitting
Yordan Alvarez just made the case why he’s the best hitter in baseball right now. He crushed five home runs in a span of three days. Those were the first three games of the series against the Rangers. Alvarez is now up to 20 home runs in the season through just 57 games. It’s tied for the second most in baseball and the most in the AL. He’s set to blow by his career high of 37 and is halfway to 40 in May.
He was the engine to the offensive showcase put on by the Astros during the week in Arlington. Alvarez also became the fifth player in Astros history to hit two homers in two consecutive games. The two home runs he hit on Wednesday were critical to the win, as he tied the game in the second and smashed the go-ahead shot a whooping 448 feet to center field on a 3-0 slider in the eighth.
That’s it build the statue. pic.twitter.com/USQH3mMgS3
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 28, 2026
His longest went 449 feet, and all five were at least 415 feet. Alvarez has the highest OPS and slugging in baseball at 1.073 and .654, respectively. His OBP of .419 is second in MLB. He’s top 10 in batting average, RBI, and hits. Not only that, he loves playing at Globe Life Field. Alvarez has hit 17 homers in 33 career games there and is ranked 10th all time at the ballpark. That’s the most by a visitor.
This is insane pic.twitter.com/3VnvK9sOMM
— Will Maddux (@MLBMetrics) May 29, 2026
Hitting and Pitching Across the Board
Tatsuya Imai gave the Astros the best and deepest start of his MLB career with six no-hit innings. Mike Burrows bounced back for the longest outing of his career and went seven innings and allowed just two earned runs. Spencer Arrighetti wasn’t throwing his best stuff again as he’s been dealing with a cold, but came through, just like an ace should.
Arrighetti powered through six innings and just allowed one run on three hits. While Jason Alexander threw a disastrous first inning on Tuesday and gave up eight runs, he gave up just one run in the rest of the five innings, which saved the bullpen. It set up the Astros for success in navigating relievers for the rest of the series. Enyel De Los Santos had a perfect 1 2/3-inning save on Wednesday and also pitched 2/3 of a scoreless inning the next day.
Multiple Astros Contributors
Cam Smith continued to show why he’s a true Gold Glove candidate in right field as he stole a home run from Brandon Nimmo in the first inning on Thursday. He also blasted a homer 457 feet on Tuesday. Both Jeremy Peña and Isaac Paredes homered in the first inning in the series finale against Nathan Eovaldi in what turned into a 5-1 win for the Astros.
CAM THE MAN!!!#ChaseTheFight pic.twitter.com/6xG4pK5VdX
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 29, 2026
Houston was able to get after Eovaldi early. Peña has been great for the Astros and hasn’t missed a game since his injury. He went 5-for-15 and hit two homers against the Rangers. Christian Walker smoked another three-run homer on Monday that blasted the game open.
NO DOUBTER! pic.twitter.com/zOWUyKiXSc
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 29, 2026
The Astros in total hit 10 home runs over this four-game span. The power has returned. The starting pitching has been reliable. The season is still alive.
“Pitching is coming around,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “The guys in the bullpen are starting to settle in and get some big outs for us. The guys are slugging. We’re getting healthy, and that’s huge. We’re getting guys coming back and that creates momentum, not just the talent we’re adding to the team, but we’re starting to feel complete. Our team is coming together.”
Main Photo Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
