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Hader struck out one in a clean ninth inning to earn the save Thursday against the Phillies.
Hader dispatched the Phillies with ease Thursday, landing six of his eight pitches for strikes. It was an encouraging bounce-back performance by the southpaw, who was scored upon in his last appearance Tuesday in Philadelphia for the first time since July 20. He has a shiny 0.87 ERA, 0.65 WHIP and 54:11 K:BB over 41.1 innings, going a perfect 25-for-25 in save chances.
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Astros' Cristian Javier: Five Ks in six sterling innings
Rotowire
Javier took a no-decision Thursday against Philadelphia, allowing one run on three hits and one walk in six innings. He struck out five.
Javier was dominant at times Thursday, beginning the day with four no-hit innings to flummox the Phillies. Houston continues to keep a close eye on the right-hander's workload, as he's thrown 90 pitches just once in 2026, but he's surrendered a single run in 79-pitch starts to open the month of September. He'll take a 5.50 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 55:23 K:BB through 55.2 innings into his next scheduled appearance at home against the Royals.
Ullola will serve as the opening pitcher during Friday's game against the Rays, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.
Ullola has allowed three earned runs in seven frames in the big leagues, and he's now been granted the opportunity to make his first career MLB start. The 24-year-old righty spent most of his minor-league career as a starter but transitioned to relief this season and hasn't worked more than two innings in an appearance since mid-May, so his outing Friday will likely be a brief one.
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Astros' Yainer Diaz: Exiting starting nine
Rotowire
Diaz is absent from the lineup for Thursday's game against the Phillies.
Diaz was behind the dish for the first two games of the series, so he'll take a seat during Thursday's matinee. Christian Vazquez will catch for the Astros and is situated in the No. 9 slot in the batting order.
Paredes went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run in Wednesday's 11-7 loss to Philadelphia.
Paredes is off to a quick start in September, hitting safely in all but one of his first eight games for the month. The third baseman has a pair of three-RBI efforts in his past four outings as well, recording at least one RBI in five of his last eight contests. Through 591 plate appearances, Paredes is slashing a healthy .260/.360/.427 with 19 homers, 25 doubles, 82 RBI and 59 runs scored.
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Astros' Hunter Brown: Stumbles in no-decision
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Brown took a no-decision against the Phillies on Wednesday, allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits and no walks in five innings. He struck out seven.
After Houston scored four runs in the third inning, the Phillies responded with four runs of their own against Brown in the bottom of the frame. The right-hander gave up his most runs since July 4 versus Tampa Bay, also breaking up a four-start streak with at least five innings and two runs or fewer allowed. He'll try to bounce back when he brings a 3.52 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 100:46 K:BB over 92 innings into his next scheduled appearance against the Royals.
Astros' Hayden Wesneski: Delivers quality start in fifth win
Rotowire
Wesneski (5-1) picked up the win Tuesday, giving up three runs on five hits over six innings in a 6-5 victory over the Phillies. He struck out three.
The right-hander carried a shutout into the sixth inning before fading, with a two-run homer by Trea Turner accounting for most of the damage off him, but Wesneski still held on for his fourth quality start of the year in his eighth trip to the mound. Since completing his recovery from Tommy John surgery and making his season debut in late July, Wesneski has produced a 3.35 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 36:14 K:BB over 45.2 innings. He'll look to keep rolling in his next outing, which is set to come on the road this weekend in Tampa Bay.
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Astros' Cam Smith: Goes deep in win
Rotowire
Smith went 1-for-3 with a solo homer and an additional run scored in Tuesday's 6-5 win over the Phillies.
Smith led off the fourth inning with a 418-foot shot off Andrew Painter, his 18th of the year, extending Houston's lead to 5-0. The homer was Smith's first since Aug. 18, though he's still managed to post an .891 OPS over his last eight games. Overall, Smith is slashing .214/.280/.394 across 504 plate appearances this season with 59 runs scored, 51 RBI and 10 steals.
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Astros' Josh Hader: Hangs on for 24th save
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Hader picked up the save in Tuesday's 6-5 win over the Phillies, allowing a run on two hits in the ninth inning. He did not record a strikeout or a walk.
Bryson Stott led off the ninth inning with a single before Edmundo Sosa drove him in with a double, the first run charged to Hader in 22 innings. The star closer would settle in, however, retiring the next three Phillies to strand the tying run in scoring position and lock down his 24th save this season. It's been another dominant year for Hader, who sports a pristine 0.89 ERA with a 0.67 WHIP and 53:11 K:BB across 40.1 innings.
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Astros' Christian Walker: Launches 25th homer
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Walker went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer in Tuesday's 6-5 win over the Phillies.
Walker opened the scoring in the second inning with a three-run, 440-foot blast off Andrew Painter, his 25th long ball this season. The homer was Walker's first in 11 games -- he'd gone just 5-for-34 with a .363 OPS across 10 contests coming into the day. Overall, the veteran first baseman is slashing .230/.305/.429 across 571 plate appearances this year with 80 RBI and 65 runs scored.
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Astros' Daulton Varsho: Powers Astros in win
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Varsho went 3-for-5 with a solo home run, a double and an additional run scored in Tuesday's 6-5 win over the Phillies.
Varsho extended Houston's lead to 6-3 in the seventh inning with his 11th homer of the year, a 406-foot blast off lefty Brooks Raley. The outfielder also logged his first multi-hit game since Aug. 26 -- Varsho had gone just 3-for-28 (.107) in eight contests prior to Tuesday. Since joining the Astros at the trade deadline, Varsho is slashing .191/.256/.348 with four homers, 13 RBI, 10 runs scored and three steals across 31 games.
Astros' Peter Lambert: Settles down for quality start
Rotowire
Lambert (8-8) took the loss against the Diamondbacks on Sunday, allowing three runs on seven hits and no walks in seven innings. He struck out six.
Lambert gave up three runs across the second and third innings, but he settled in after that. It was his first quality start since July 22 versus Miami, and he's yielded two runs or fewer in 10 of his last 12 outings. He'll bring a solid 3.67 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 137:56 K:BB over 139.2 innings into his next scheduled appearance against the Rays at Tropicana Field.
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