UVALDE STRONG
Astros honor Uvalde with special Game Day experience and huge win
Aug 15, 2022, 1:26 pm
Astros superstar José Altuve signs autographs before the game. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images.
The Houston Astrosbested the Oakland A’s on Sunday, August 14, marking a full Oakland sweep and capping a Hall of Fame Weekend that saw the long-awaited return of hometown hero Lance McCullers Jr. the day before.
But the real winners were the hundreds of fans from Uvalde, Texas who witnessed Alex Bregman blast another Breggy Bomb and pitcher Christian Javier secure the win.
The Astros delivered some 3,500 total tickets to the Sunday game to the Uvalde community and also chartered 10 buses to bring approximately 500 members of the community directly impacted by the horrific tragedy at Robb Elementary on May 24.
This trip from the team was part of owner Jim Cranes commitment and invitation to residents when he and members of the Houston Astros Foundation visited the grief-torn community in July, as CultureMap previously reported.
As for the all-inclusive Game Day experience, Uvalde group was allowed to participate in a pregame Q&A with Jose Altuve, Lance McCullers Jr., Alex Bregman, and manager Dusty Baker.
The eager Uvalde visitors were also given the opportunity to walk around the field on the warning track, take in views of the ballpark, snap photos, and mingle with and get autographs from the welcoming Astros players.
According to Mark Berman, Alex Bregman came through with a home run for a young girl from Uvalde.
Before the game a young girl from Uvalde asked Alex Bregman (@ABREG_1)to hit a home run & he did,helping the Astros win&win 1 for Uvalde on Uvalde Strong Day at MMP:”It was really cool, anything we can do for them. As soon as I got to the dugout Dusty said hey u hit 1 for Uvalde” pic.twitter.com/5oiduK7Pxn
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) August 14, 2022
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It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
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