Astros vs. Marlins Game Discussion: 7/21/2026

TONIGHT’S GAME: The Houston Astros (48-54) and Miami Marlins (52-49) will play the middle game of their three-game series tonight at Daikin Park in Houston, TX.

RHP Tatsuya Imai (5-4, 6.06 ERA) will get his first start of the second half and his first start in two weeks tonight opposite the Marlins and RHP Tyler Phillips (2-4, 3.48 ERA).

ABOUT IMAI: RHP Tatsuya Imai joined the Astros this offseason as a free agent signing out of Japan. He’s made 13 MLB starts this year, in which the Astros have gone 8-5, around a month-long IL stint (April 13-May 10).

He’s flashed brilliance at times, including four starts with eight-plus strikeouts, and 6.0 innings of no-hit ball in the Astros no-hitter on May 25 at TEX.

MOVING UP THE LIST: ManagerJoe Espada has 223 managerial wins as the Astros skipper, which ranks 11th in franchise history. With his next win, he will match Terry Collins (224 wins) for 10th on the Astros all-time managerial wins list.

GET ‘EM EARLY: The Astros rank first in the AL and second in the Majors in 1st-inning runs (67). Overall, the Astros rank 12th in the Majors in runs (463) immediately ahead of the Marlins (452).

THE LINEUP: The Astros have used 101 different lineups in their 102 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 89 times.

ON THE DEFENSIVE: The Astros rank second in the AL in fielding pct. (.988) and their 43 errors are the second-fewest in the AL. 1B Christian Walker has led the way, as he has not committed an error in his 97 games played at 1B. Dating back to last season, Walker has not made an error in his last 125 games at 1B (last error was Aug. 23, 2025 at BAL).

MVP-CALIBER: DH Yordan Alvarez is a strong AL MVP candidate as he enters tonight as the AL’s Triple Crown leader, ranking first in batting average (.324), HR (33), and RBI (75). He currently leads all of baseball in OPS (1.083), OBP (.432), SLG (.651), extra-base hits (53), and total bases (237), and in the AL, he ranks first in hits (118), third in runs (67), and fourth in walks (66).

CHASING BAGWELL: DH Yordan Alvarez has hit 33 homers in the Astros first 102 games, which ties as the second-most in that span in club history, trailing only 1B Jeff Bagwell, who homered 34 times through the club’s first 102 games in 1994. Alvarez is on pace to hit 52 homers on the season, which would represent a new franchise record, topping the 47 homers hit by Bagwell in 2000.

KEYSTONE FLIGHTS: 2B Jose Altuve has 246 career homers as a second baseman and per Elias that ties him with 2B Joe Gordon and 2B Ian Kinsler for eighth all-time in homers by a second baseman in MLB history. On that all-time list, the trio immediately trails 2B Bret Boone (251), who happens to be the father-in-law of IF Nick Allen.

TAP FOR SUCCESS: Astros hitters have won an MLB-best 72 ABS challenges and lead the Majors in challenge success rate (61%). 2B Jose Altuve has been successful on 15-of-23 challenges (65%), ranking third in the Majors in challenges won. 3B Isaac Paredes (11-for-12) has been the most efficient regular challenger for the team and was successful in his first 11 challenges this year.

WHAT A RELIEF: LHP Josh Hader is 3-1 with 10 saves (in 10 chances), has a 1.56 ERA (3ER/17.1IP), 28 strikeouts in 17.1 innings, a .148 (9×61) opponent average, and a 0.98 WHIP in 19 appearances. He has not allowed a hit in 14 of his 19 appearances.

VS THE MARLINS: The Astros and Marlins are playing their first series against each other since Aug. 4-6, 2025 in Miami, with the Astros winning two of three games. This is the Marlins first series in Houston since July 9-11, 2024, a three-game sweep for the Astros.

DOWN ON THE FARM: All three of the Astros minor league teams in action yesterday won, which includes the Astros FCL affiliate and their two Dominican Summer League teams. All three teams have had huge success this season, combining for a 78-37 record (.678), including a 39-11 record by the FCL Astros entering today.

TODAY IN ASTROS HISTORY: 2024 – DH Yordan Alvarez goes 4×4 with a double, triple, single and home run at Seattle to record his first career cycle and the 10th cycle in Astros franchise history.

Game Info

Game Date/Time: Monday, July 20, 7:10 p.m. CT

Location: Daikin Park, Houston, TX

TV: SCHN

Radio: KBME 790 AM & 94.5 FM HD2; TUDN 102.9 FM HD2 (Spanish)