June Proves Josh Hader’s Value to Astros Hopes of Making Playoffs

If the month of June proved anything to the Houston Astros, it's that the wait for Josh Hader to close games was worth it.

The Astros wrapped up June with a victory over the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday and Hader shut down the ninth inning. He threw a perfect inning, striking out two hitters and throwing nine pitches, seven of which were strikes. It was as efficient as a closer gets.

While Yordan Alvarez has stolen most of the headlines and justifiably so — after all he hit his third grand slam of June on Tuesday — getting Hader back to lock down the ninth inning is a big reason why the Astros are within three games of first place in the American League West after the largesse of injuries it dealt with in April and May.

Josh Hader’s Huge June

Josh Hader continues his superb work. He’s 2-0, 8-8 in save opportunities with a 0.69 ERA. pic.twitter.com/zYxNue5154
— Mark Berman (@MarkBerman_) July 1, 2026

The Astros activated Hader on June 2, and he went right to work, recording a save in his first appearance a day later against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

He ended up pitching in 13 games in June as he went 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA and converted all eight of his save opportunities. He struck out 21 and walked five in 13 innings and batters hit just .049 against him.

This is the closer the Astros signed before the 2024 season for five years and $95 million, which is the largest free-agent contract Houston has handed out under owner Jim Crane, not including extensions to players under contract like Jose Altuve or retaining their own free agents. It represented a departure from practice and in 2024 he pitched like he was worth every penny.

That year Hader went 8-8 with a 3.80 ERA in 71 games with 34 saves in 38 chances. He was on his way to another terrific season in 2025 before he suffered a left capsule strain that ended his season. He finished 6-2 with a 2.05 ERA with 28 saves in 29 chances. It was one of many reasons Houston missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

His recovery took longer than most shoulder strains and it was compounded after he developed left biceps tendinitis during his recovery, which landed him on the 60-day injured list to start the season. He was terrific during a rehab assignment that lasted a month and he’s carried that over to the Astros.

Now that he's back, the Astros can arrange their bullpen the way they wanted to at the start of the season. Plus, they have one of the best closers in baseball shutting down victories and keeping them in a race to win the AL West. Based on how this team has played the past six weeks, his timing couldn't have been better.

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