Jose Altuve Is Back, And the Emerald City Isn't Ready For the Headache

Alright, Seattle. Grab your coffee, or maybe something a little stronger, because the news coming out of Houston today is a total gut punch. Remember that nine-time All-Star, Jose Altuve? The one who hit the injured list a few weeks back with a left oblique strain? Yeah, he's back, or at least he's practically kicking down the dugout door. He hit light batting practice yesterday, taking a major step towards rejoining the Astros lineup, and honestly, the rest of the league, especially us, just got a whole lot more annoyed.

The Return of a Rival's MVP Threat

Altuve's been sidelined since May 18, and get this, the Astros actually went 9-7 in his absence. NINE and SEVEN! Even without him, they're not exactly falling apart. Their manager, Joe Espada, said Altuve "looked good" and "took a ton of swings," plus "ran the bases, did his defense." The guy's clearly champing at the bit. Altuve himself straight up said, "I don't like wasting time. If we can get back one day, two days earlier than what we thought, we'd be good with it." He added that "Everything feels great" and they're "getting some momentum to get back to 100%." Espada didn't confirm him for their upcoming weekend series against the Athletics, but Altuve is set to complete a more rigorous batting practice today. You know what that means: he's practically already in the batter's box, waiting to mess with our vibes.

Astros Getting Stronger While Others Are Stealing

And if Altuve wasn't enough to make you sigh, guess who else decided to pop back up? Josh Hader, their closer, making his season debut last night after being out with left biceps tendinitis. He locked down their 11-9 victory over the Pirates with a scoreless, hitless inning, one walk, and one strikeout. Great, just what we needed, their bullpen getting stronger. Now, as for the decisive contest tonight against Pittsburgh, the Astros are sending right-hander Kai-Wei Teng to the mound. He's sitting at 3-3 with a 2.57 ERA. Last Friday, he didn't get a decision in a 5-4, 10-inning loss to the Brewers, letting in three runs on three hits and four walks over five innings. But before that? Back-to-back scoreless starts, allowing just four hits and seven walks with 13 strikeouts over 11 innings in wins against the Rangers and Cubs. The Pirates are countering with right-hander Jared Jones, who's got an 0-0 record and a chunky 10.38 ERA from his first start of the season. He gave up five runs on seven hits and two walks over 4 1/3 innings in a 6-5 walk-off win against the Twins last Friday, his first outing since September 2024 after missing all of 2025 with a right elbow UCL sprain. Oh, and the Pirates' Oneil Cruz is apparently swiping bags like crazy, hitting his 20th stolen base last night, tied for second in the majors. Yeah, other teams are making moves, too. So yeah, the Astros are getting healthy, other teams are doing their thing, and meanwhile, what about our Mariners? It was a rough one last night, folks. The Mets rolled into T-Mobile Park and handed us a tough 7-1 loss. Ouch. We've gotta pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and come back swinging. It's still early in the season, and every game, every pitch, matters. Let's keep that energy up, 12s, because we bleed green and blue, and we know our M's can turn it around. Stay strong, Emerald City!

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.