Hey guys it’s Ari Alexander with the Astros newsletter. One week. One week away from Opening Day! We’re so close! The good news for Astros fans is there isn’t much to be decided with the roster.

Brandon Lowe hit a two-run homer and drove in three, Josh Lowe capped a four-run first with a three-run double and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Houston Astros 8-2.

Rookie Grae Kessinger hit his first career home run and fellow rookie Corey Julks had a career-high four hits to lead the Houston Astros to a 4-1 win over the Colorado Rockies.

Corey Julks hit his first career grand slam, Brandon Bielak matched his career high by pitching 6 2/3 innings and the Houston Astros used a season-high 19 hits to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 11-4.

Mauricio Dubón had three hits, highlighted by a tiebreaking RBI double in a five-run seventh inning, and the Houston Astros beat the San Francisco Giants 7-3.

Houston Astros right-hander Jose Urquidy was placed on the 15-day injured list with inflammation in his right shoulder before the start of a series against the San Francisco Giants on Monday.

Astros make roster moves as Opening Day approaches

Jose Altuve had three hits and drove in three runs and José Urquidy pitched four-hit ball over seven innings as the Houston Astros defeated the Los Angeles Angels 9-1.

Framber Valdez won his sixth straight decision while pitching his 22nd consecutive quality start and Jose Altuve homered, doubled and scored twice as the Houston Astros beat the Texas Rangers 4-2 on Tuesday night.

Kyle Tucker had a three-run homer and a stolen base, Yordan Alvarez hit his 23rd home run and Framber Valdez pitched a gem to lift the Houston Astros over the New York Mets 9-1.

The Houston Astros have placed five-time All-Star Michael Brantley on the injured list with right shoulder discomfort.

Justin Verlander struck out a season-high 12 in seven sparkling innings, Yordan Alvarez hit a two-run homer and the Houston Astros beat the Seattle Mariners 4-1.

Kole Calhoun knocked in the go-ahead run with an RBI single and Daulton Varsho homered as the Arizona Diamondbacks scored three runs in the 10th inning for a 6-4 win over the Houston Astros.

Rookie Jake Meyers homered and drove in four runs as the Houston Astros jumped on Yusei Kikuchi early and sailed to an 11-2 win over the Seattle Mariners.

Jake Meyers had the last of three singles as part of Houston’s eighth-inning rally against former teammate Joe Smith, scoring Kyle Tucker with the go-ahead run and sending the Astros over the Seattle Mariners 4-3.

The San Francisco Giants hit five home runs, including four off Astros ace Zack Greinke, and beat Houston 8-6 in an interleague matchup of division leaders.

Kyle Tucker hit a three-run homer in Houston’s big third inning to help the Astros hand the Texas Rangers their 10th straight loss with a 7-3 victory.

Lucas Giolito pitched a three-hitter, José Abreu launched a three-run homer and the Chicago White Sox beat the Houston Astros 10-1.

Austin Hays homered and Ryan Mountcastle drove in two runs to help the Baltimore Orioles wrap up a three-game sweep of the slumping Houston Astros with a 5-2 win.

Austin Hays hit a tiebreaking two-run homer during Baltimore’s five-run ninth inning, helping the Orioles top the Houston Astros 9-7.

Jake Odorizzi and the Houston bullpen took a bid for a combined no-hitter into the eighth inning, eventually settling for a 10-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles that marked the Astros’ eighth straight win.

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Fernando Tatis Jr. and Tommy Pham both homered, then helped out with an RBI each in a seven-run 11th inning that sent the San Diego Padres over the Houston Astros 10-3.

José Altuve and Yuli Gurriel homered early as the Houston Astros hit a season-high five long balls in a 9-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

Jared Walsh homered and matched a career high with four hits, Justin Upton also connected and the Los Angeles Angels rallied in the sixth inning to beat the Houston Astros 5-4.

Boos and bad words streamed loudly from the seats in the Houston Astros’ return to Yankee Stadium, and New York got a homer and four hits from Giancarlo Stanton to sate those spiteful fans with a 7-3 victory.

Boos and bad words streamed loudly from the seats in the Houston Astros’ return to Yankee Stadium, and New York got a homer and four hits from Giancarlo Stanton to sate those spiteful fans with a 7-3 victory.

Austin Gomber got his first victory for the Colorado Rockies, allowing two hits over six innings to beat the Astros 6-3 on a wintry afternoon and send Houston to its ninth loss in 10 games.

Jason Castro homered in his first start back with Houston, and the Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 9-2 on Sunday to complete a four-game sweep.

Trevor Williams went five innings in his fourth start, allowing a run on three hits. Austin Gomber made his fourth start for Colorado, allowing two runs on three hits, striking out four in 4 1/3 innings. Dylan Cease made his second start, allowing three hits and three walks in 3 2/3 scoreless innings. Matthew Boyd made his fourth start, allowing one run on four hits and a walk in four innings, striking out five. Tyler Anderson went five innings in his fourth start for Pittsburgh, giving up one run on two hits.

And when you do that to anybody I think it takes the wind out of their sails,” Gonzales said. That’s it.”Gonzales was dominant on the mound, Evan White broke open a tight game with a three-run homer in the seventh and the Mariners beat the Astros 6-1 Monday night. The win also improved Seattle’s slim hopes of catching the Astros for second place and a guaranteed playoff spot. It was just the third victory for Seattle in its past 27 meetings with Houston over the last two seasons. McCullers struck out Jose Marmolejos and Luis Torrens, but couldn’t get White.

Trout broke a tie with Tim Salmon for the franchise record. Trout had matched Salmon with a homer Friday night, and has connected five times in eight games. The 29-year-old Trout is the 16th player to reach the 300-homer mark before turning 30 and the 11th fastest by age to do it. Salmon played his entire 14-year career with the Angels from 1992 to 2006 and was part of their only World Series championship in 2002. All records are meant to be broken.In March 2019, Trout signed a 12-year contract worth $426.5 million.

One out later, Adell lined a two-run single to right off Enoli Paredes (1-2) for his first game-ending hit. Kyle Tucker homered and drove in three runs for the Astros, who lost in walk-off fashion for the second straight game. With two outs and runners on second and third, Martin Maldonado hit a two-run single to right-center. After Yuli Gurriel's two-run single in the third, Tucker extended the lead to 4-1 with a run-scoring infield single. It is the seventh game to start with triple-digit temperatures since the ballpark opened in 1966.

HOUSTON Rookie Cristian Javier threw well into the sixth inning, protecting a big lead and sending the Houston Astros over the Los Angeles Angels 6-3 Tuesday in the opener of a doubleheader created by the approach of Hurricane Laura. The Astros played a doubleheader against the Mets on Sept. 2, 2017, following Hurricane Harvey, which caused severe flooding in the Houston area. Javier (3-1) retired 13 of the first 15 batters before Jason Castro got an RBI single with one out in the fifth for the Angels first hit. Josh Reddick added an RBI single before Mayfields single. The Angels will be the home team for the first game of the twinbill, and the Astros will be the home team for the second game.

Bielak (3-0) allowed one hit and one run in six innings for the win in his third MLB start. The Rockies have dropped four of their last five games and six of the last eight. The Rockies didnt get another hit until Charlie Blackmon singled on a ball which hit Taylor on the thigh to start the ninth inning. It is the first time the Rockies have lost a game Freeland started this season after they won the first four games he started. Greinke got his first win of the season in his last start when he allowed one run in a season-high 6 1/3 innings against San Francisco.

HOUSTON Brandon Crawford's RBI single in the 10th inning lifted the San Francisco Giants to a 7-6 win over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night. An RBI single by Darin Ruf off Ryan Pressly with one out in the ninth tied it at 6-all. Flores also homered for the Giants, who snapped a six-game losing streak to the Astros. Alex Dickerson hit an RBI single to center field with two outs in the fifth to cut the lead to 4-2. Astros: OF George Springer missed his fifth game with a strained right wrist, but was Houston's runner on second base in the 10th inning.

McCullers (2-1) bounced back from one of the worst performances of his career with a gem where he allowed one hit and struck out five in seven scoreless innings. Ryan Pressly retired the next two batters before the Giants cut it to 6-3 on a run-scoring single by Brandon Crawford. Slater hit an RBI single before Pressly retired pinch-hitter Evan Longoria to get his first save. McCullers, who missed last season after Tommy John surgery, retired his first six batters before plunking Slater on the leg to start the third inning. Martn Maldonado snapped a 0-for-13 slump when he connected off Conner Menez for a solo homer to the seats in right field to start Houstons sixth and make it 6-0.

PHOENIX Kole Calhoun lined a two-run single in the ninth inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied to beat the Houston Astros 5-4 Thursday night to win their first series of the season. ROSTER MOVESArizona designated INF Ildemaro Vargas for assignment and optioned RHP Yoan Lopez to its alternate training site to get its active roster down to 28. The Astros got down to the 28-player limit by optioning RHP Bryan Abreu and INF Jack Mayfield to their alternate training site. TRAINING TABLEAstros: Reigning AL rookie of the year Yordan Alvarez took batting practice and did some running at the team's alternate training site. Diamondbacks: RHP Luke Weaver (0-2, 14.73) looks to get his shaky start to the 2020 season on track in Arizona's series opener against San Diego on Friday.

The Astros built their 4-0 lead with the help of Kyle Tucker's two-run homer and Abraham Toro's solo shot. But the right-hander fell apart in the fourth inning and was eventually pulled after facing 10 batters. George Springer hit a two-run homer in the fifth to pull the Astros within a 9-6 margin but they couldn't get any closer. Once it opened, the homers started flying in the desert: The Astros hit three and the D-backs hit four over the final six innings. Diamondbacks: RHP Zac Gallen (0-0, 2.70) will try to win his first game of the year after getting a no-decision in his first two starts.

HOUSTON This 2020 baseball season has been a whirlwind for Astros lefty Brandon Bielak. I thank all of those coaches out there that helped me get here,said Bielak on Wednesday from Arizona. The Astros think so highly of Bielak that on Wednesday morning they decided to alter the rotation and move Bielak into the starting role where he will toe the rubber in Arizona on Thursday. Just go out there and have a game plan and stick to being the pitcher that I am, said Bielak. Im in the rotation for a reason and just go out there and do my job.While he makes his first major league start Thursday hell have family rooting him from a distance.