Wednesday, July 29

ANAHEIM – The Astros’ season has been dominated by slugger Yordan Alvarez, who entered the week leading the American League in all three Triple Crown categories – batting average (.323), homers (34) and RBIs (77) – and by a comfortable margin in each. Alvarez has been named AL Player of the Week three times this year, but a teammate took the honors last week.

Shortstop Jeremy Peña, who hits leadoff ahead of Alvarez, was named the AL Player of the Week for July 20-26 after going 13-for-26 (.500) with five home runs (including a grand slam), eight RBIs and a 1.577 OPS. He’s won a World Series MVP, ALCS MVP and Gold Glove, but this is his first Player of the Week honor.

“I felt like this whole week, we had a great plan going into the series with the hitting coaches,” Peña said. “There’s a lot of work being done behind the scenes, and it’s always good to see it pay off. We’re going to try to keep building off of that. The team’s playing well and we’ve got to keep going.”

Despite missing 48 games with a pair of trips to the injured list, Peña’s impact on the Astros’ lineup has been huge. The Astros went 5-1 last week with Peña leading the way, and the team’s production when he’s in the lineup versus when he’s out is noticeable.

According to Elias, the Astros are 31-25 when Peña is in the lineup, with a team slash line of .246/.415/.740 and an average of 4.9 runs per game. In the 51 games he hasn’t been in the lineup, the team is hitting .238/.409/.715 and averaging 4.3 runs per game. Peña’s presence in the lineup is good for more than a half-run per game.

“I think he makes Yordan better,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “I think both of them feed off one another. Jeremy is having an incredible year. He has one of the best hitters in the game hitting behind him. He gets good pitches to hit, but credit to Jeremy. He’s not missing those pitches. He’s getting himself in good hitters’ counts and he’s also driving the ball out of the ballpark. And what he does defensively, and what he means to our team energy-wise, he’s put everything together.”

Peña knows how important the last two months of the season are going to be and said this is the point of the season in which players have to push through.

“It’s easy to modify your routine and do less and show up a little bit later to the stadium,” he said. “I think it’s important to stay on top of your routine. Even though your body might feel a little bit tired, it doesn’t matter. You’ve got to still show up and put the work in and go out and compete.”

Peña said during the spring that he wanted to play in 162 games, but injuries took care of that. He missed eight games earlier this month with a calf strain but came off the IL after the minimum of 10 days. He missed more than a month after straining his right hamstring strain in April.

“Obviously, you want the results, obviously you want to play well, obviously you want to help the team win, but if you’re not out there you can’t help the team,” Peña said. “I take pride in being available to play. This year has been a little bit rough with injuries and some stuff I can’t control. I’m doing my part to stay on the field and finish the rest of the season healthy.”

The Astros began Tuesday in second place in the AL West at 53-55, trailing the first-place Rangers by two games. There is no player more important to the Astros than Alvarez, but Peña’s continued hot bat will be huge if Houston is to return to the playoffs this year.

“These guys are all grinding and we’re going to grind together,” Peña said. “We’re in this together and we have one goal in mind, which is to get to the playoffs and make a run, and everyone is on the same page. We’re going to need every single piece we have, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Carlos Beltrán and Jeff Kent became the third and fourth members of the 2004 Astros to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, and both men made sure to recognize the two other Hall of Famers on that team – Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio – during their speeches Sunday.

Kent: “My time in Houston meant more to me than the length on a baseball card would suggest. Gerry Hunsicker was the GM there and knew me by my Mets days and believed in me enough to bring me in as a free agent. That trust mattered. Getting a chance to play alongside the Killer Bs of Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio and Lance Berkman was special. It didn’t last as long as I wanted it to, but it left a permanent mark on me for what real leadership and accountability looked like.”

Beltrán: “In 2004, I got the biggest blessing to be around two greats, both of them are here: Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio. Believe it or not, I was 25 years old and you guys were at the end of your career, maybe 36, 37, but you told me something very special. You told me [that] in order for me to aspire to have a long career in baseball, I needed to learn how to play with pain. I saw you guys grind day in and day out. That was very special to me and that was something that I carried for the rest of my life. There is no way that I could have lasted 20 years in the big leagues without learning how to play with pain. Thank you.”

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