The Houston Astro s had to make a few moves before they could set their lineup for the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday evening.
The Astros activated outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. from the injured list after he missed time with a right hamstring strain. Additionally, Houston called up outfielder Zach Dezenzo from Triple-A Sugar Land.
In their place, Houston optioned a pair of players - outfielder Joey Loperfido and Jake Meyers - back to Sugar Land.
The Astros (43-47) enter the game with the AL East-leading Rays (52-33) running out of runway to get back to .500 before the All-Star break. At minimum, Houston hopes to remain in striking distance in the AL West going into their final series before the break, which is against the Texas Rangers , who lead the division.
Here is Saturday's lineup and three matchups that matter.
Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
2B Jose Altuve
DH Yordan Alvarez (L)
LF LaMonte Wade Jr. (L)
RF Cam Smith
CF Taylor Trammell (L)
SS Nick Allen
Where:Daikin Park, Houston, Texas
Saturday:6:10 p.m. - TV: Astros:Space City Home Network; Rays:Rays.TV
Saturday: AstrosRHP Hunter Brown (1-0, 1.78) vs. RaysRHP Drew Rasmussen (7-4, 2.45)
Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Yordan Alvarez:I mean, does he have a bad matchup? For the record, he is batting .222 in nine at-bats against Rasmussen. He's driven in a run but doesn't have a home run. So maybe he's due? For the season the left-handed slugger is slashing .319/.431/.625 with 27 home runs and 61 RBI as he pursues Houston's first triple crown season. He's slashed .280/.379/.520 in the last seven games with two home runs and five RBI.
Jose Altuve:Altuve has a similar history with Rasmussen -nine at-bats with a .222 batting average. But he has a home run to go with that one RBI. He's pointed toward his worst season since 2020 when he slashed .219/.286/.344 during the COVID-19 shortened season. Altuve is slashing .229/.302/.372 with eight home runs and 22 RBI this season. It's time for him to start bouncing back and get some momentum before the All-Star break.
Cam Smith:He's one of a handful of players on the Astros roster that has never faced Rasmussen. He's only batting slightly better against right-handers (.224) than left-handers (.219) and most of his slugging is against right-handed pitching. So that makes him a good matchup on Saturday. Bu the slash doesn't look great - .223/.296/.385 with 11 home runs and 32 RBI. But with his defense he can't benched.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/astros/onsi as Astros Activate LaMonte Wade Jr., Set Lineup for Matchup with Rays .
