IT'S HAPPENING
Latest news gives Houston Astros a big boost with A's coming to town
May 19, 2023, 11:55 am
He's baaack! Composite Getty Image.
brantley-altuve-mccormick
The Houston Astros host the Oakland Athletics this weekend at Minute Maid Park, and it looks like there will be a big reason to celebrate for Astros fans.
Tonight, Jose Altuve returns. pic.twitter.com/H95PEmcyD5
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 19, 2023
Jose Altuve has been activated and will play for the first time this season after fracturing his thumb in the World Baseball Classic.
Jose Altuve will make his season debut tonight at @MinuteMaidPark.
🎟️: https://t.co/JKVVoyRky2 pic.twitter.com/ofVDjUiLUF
— Houston Astros (@astros) May 19, 2023
Brandon Bielak (0-1, 3.29 ERA, 10 SO) will be on the mound for the Astros and Altuve will make his debut against LHP Ken Waldichuk (1-2, 7.02 ERA, 36 SO).
The Astros are still waiting for Michael Brantley and Lance McCullers to play this season. After being shutdown, Michael Brantley is feeling better. He's dealing with inflammation in his surgically repaired shoulder. A target date for his return has yet to be determined.
McCullers is making good progress and seeing his velocity improve, but there is still no timeline for his return.
It will be interesting to see what the Astros do with Mauricio Dubon, who has done a fantastic job in Altuve's absence. He currently leads the team in hits, runs, and doubles.
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Jalen Green scored 34 points, Alperen Sengun had 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and the Houston Rockets beat the short-handed Denver Nuggets 128-108 on Wednesday night.
Green, who hit six 3-pointers, continued his recent scoring surge. He is averaging 32 points in Houston's last six games, including a career-best 42 points against Memphis on Monday.
Fred VanVleet added 16 points, eight assists and three steals for the Rockets, who beat Denver for the fifth time in six meetings.
The Nuggets were without two of their five leading scorers in reigning league MVP Nikola Jokic (right elbow inflammation) and Aaron Gordon (right calf injury).
Jamal Murray and Christian Braun each scored 22 point for Denver, which had 18 turnovers in the loss, including five apiece from its starting backcourt of Murray and Russell Westbrook.
Takeaways
Rockets: Houston won its fifth in a row and improved to 10-3 in its last 13 games to solidify its standing as the No. 2 team in the Western Conference.
Nuggets: Denver, which had won eight of its previous 10 games, absorbed its most lopsided defeat since a 145-118 loss to the New York Knicks on Nov. 25.
Key moment
Houston opened the second quarter on an 8-2 run that was capped off by a corner 3 by former Nugget Jeff Green that stretched the Rockets' lead to 11 points. Houston outscored Denver 41-25 in the period to take a 69-48 lead into halftime.
Key stat
The loss was Denver’s eighth in 20 home games this season, matching the Nuggets’ home loss total across 41 regular-season games in 2023-24.
Up next
Houston continues its three-game road swing Thursday at Sacramento. The Nuggets are back in action Friday at the Miami Heat.