Houston Astros Rookie Moving Up Powerful List in Team Record Books

The Houston Astros lost to the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night 9-5 but it wasn't the fault of rookie Yainer Diaz.

The rookie backstop hit his 23rd home of the season in the defeat, which gave him the second-most home runs in team history by a rookie.

Second most home runs for a rookie in franchise history. pic.twitter.com/PLyIbM5Xtr
— Houston Astros (@astros) September 20, 2023

The 24-year-old has been a revelation for the 'Stros this season, hitting the 23 homers while bringing in 59 runs. He's helped offset the losses of Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve and Jose Abreu, who have all missed time this year with injury.

He's hitting .286 overall and has posted a robust .861 OPS.

He played six games for the Astros in 2022 but has appeared in 98 this year, becoming an integral part of the lineup for manager Dusty Baker.

After the loss, the Astros are 84-68 this season. They lead both the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers by 0.5 games in the American League West playoff race. Houston won the World Series last year and is looking its third World Series title in the last decade (2017, 2022).

On the other side of things, the Orioles just kept on rolling, moving to 95-56 on the year. They have the best record in the American League and are working to wrap up the top seed in the AL playoffs.

The two teams will play again on Wednesday afternoon at MinuteMaid Park. First pitch is set for 2:10 p.m. ET as Cristian Javier (HOU) is opposed by Kyle Bradish.

Bradish sports a 3.12 ERA while Javier has a 4.74.

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