​ARLINGTON, TEXAS – JULY 10: Hunter Brown #58 of the Houston Astros pitches against the Texas Rangers during the first inning at Globe Life Field on July 10, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images) | Getty Images TODAY’S GAME: The Houston Astros (47-53) will play the finale of their three-game weekend series against the Baltimore Orioles (48-51) this afternoon at Daikin Park.RHP Hunter Brown (1-0, 3.57 ERA) will make his 100th career start today and the fourth of his career against the Orioles, as he faces off against RHP Brandon Young (7-2, 3.42 ERA), who was announced as today’s starter last night.THE DIESEL: RHP Hunter Brown will make his eighth start of the season today and his sixth since returning from a lengthy stint on the IL with a right shoulder strain. He has shown some rust upon his return, posting a 4.74 ERA (13ER/24.2IP) in his five starts, but has managed to keep the Astros in games, with the club going 3-2 in those starts. FAMILIAR FOE: The Astros have seen fellow Texan RHP Brandon Young in each of their last three series against the Orioles with him combining for a 1-2 record and a 5.71 ERA (11ER/17.1IP) in those games. In their first matchup on Aug. 15, 2025 in Houston, Young carried a no-hitter into the 9th, but in his next two starts against the Astros, they clobbered him for 17 runs (11 earned) in 9.1 innings.THE LINEUP: The Astros have used 99 different lineups in their 100 games, repeating a lineup just once on the season. DH Yordan Alvarez has the most starts at any spot in the lineup among Astros, hitting second 87 times. GET ‘EM EARLY: The Astros rank first in the AL and second in the Majors in 1st-inning runs (67). Overall, the Astros rank fifth in the AL in runs (453) immediately behind the Orioles (454). ON THE DEFENSIVE: The Astros rank second in the AL in fielding pct. (.988) and their 42 errors are the second-fewest in the AL. 1B Christian Walker has led the way, as he has not committed an error in his 96 games played at 1B. Dating back to last season, Walker has not made an error in his last 124 games at 1B (last error was Aug. 23, 2025 at BAL).INJURY BUG: The Astros removed both SS Jeremy Peña and 1B Christian Walker from yesterday’s game due to injury. Peña left with a right hamstring cramp and Walker with right hip tightness.TODAY’S ROSTER MOVES: The Astros have recalled IF Raynel Delgado from Triple A Sugar Land and have designated RHP Nate Pearson for assignment.MVP-CALIBER: DH Yordan Alvarez is a strong MVP candidate, currently leading all of baseball in OPS (1.065), OBP (.430), SLG (.635), and total bases (226). Additionally, he is the Triple Crown leader in the AL, ranking first in batting average (.320), HR (31), and RBI (72) entering play today. Alvarez also ranks first in the AL in hits (114), first in XBH (50), tied for second in runs (65), and fourth in walks (66). ALL-STAR ALVAREZ: DH Yordan Alvarez started and hit second for the AL in last week’s All-Star