Pena went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run and a walk in Sunday's 10-1 win over the Athletics.
Pena hadn't homered in 22 games entering this weekend, but he's gone deep in back-to-back contests. During the power drought, he hit .244 (20-for-82) with five extra-base hits, and he was caught stealing four times in that span. It's been a tough start to 2023 for the shortstop, whose .247/.292/.439 slash line through 51 games isn't all that different from where he ended last year. He's added eight homers, 26 RBI, 28 runs scored and six stolen bases while maintaining a near-everyday place in the lineup.
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Astros' Jeremy Pena: Pops seventh homer
Rotowire
Pena went 2-for-4 with a double, a two-run home run and a second run scored in Saturday's 6-3 win over the A's.
He gave the Astros a quick 2-0 lead by taking Austin Pruitt deep in the top of the first inning. Pena's .247/.290/.428 slash line on the season is a near-perfect match for his .253/.289/.426 line as a rookie, but Saturday's long ball was his first in May and snapped a 22-game homer drought.
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Astros' Jeremy Pena: Getting night off Friday
Rotowire
Pena is not in the lineup Friday against the Athletics.
Mauricio Dubon will cover shortstop and bat second with Jose Altuve (illness) back at second base and hitting leadoff. Pena has been frustratingly inconsistent to begin his sophomore campaign, but he remains the primary option at shortstop for Houston.
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Astros' Jeremy Pena: Receives first day off
Rotowire
Pena is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the White Sox.
Pena started the first 39 games of the season for Houston, and he'll receive a well-earned breather for Sunday's series finale in Chicago. Mauricio Dubon will shift to shortstop while David Hensley starts at second base.
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Astros' Jeremy Pena: Doubles twice in loss
Rotowire
Pena went 3-for-4 with two doubles, one RBI and one run scored in Saturday's 7-5 loss to the Mariners.
Pena had gone five games without an extra-base hit prior to Saturday. This was his second three-hit game of the season, though he's also racked up six strikeouts over his last four contests. The shortstop is slashing .252/.300/.458 with six home runs, 18 RBI, 22 runs scored, nine doubles and six stolen bases through 33 games.
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Astros' Jeremy Pena: Drills fifth home run
Rotowire
Pena went 1-for-4 with a home run in Friday's 3-1 loss against Philadelphia.
Pena launched a solo shot off an Aaron Nola fastball in the first inning. But that was the sole source of offense on the night for the Astros. Houston's shortstop was slashing .200/.273/.388 on April 21. Recently Pena has turned it on. In the last six games, he's raised his slash line to .240/.301/.452.
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Astros' Jeremy Pena: Pops fourth homer
Rotowire
Pena went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in Monday's 8-3 loss to the Rays.
The shortstop took rookie Taj Bradley deep in the third inning, briefly giving the Astros their last lead of the game at 3-2. Pena has had trouble stringing together hits so far this season, slashing just .217/.280/.413 through 23 games, but he's maintained solid fantasy production with four homers, six steals, 13 RBI and 16 runs. The RBI on Monday was his first in the last four games, and he's struck out six times over that span.
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Astros' Jeremy Pena: Swipes sixth base
Rotowire
Pena went 3-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base in Saturday's 6-3 win over Atlanta.
Pena manufactured a run in the eighth inning, as he dropped down a bunt, stole second and came around to score on a Corey Julks single. The bunt single helped Pena to his first three-hit game of the season. It was a good bounce-back performance after he struck out three times Friday. The second-year shortstop has his average up to .226 after a slow start to the season.
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Astros' Jeremy Pena: Blasts third homer of season in win
Rotowire
Pena went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run, an additional run scored and a steal in Wednesday's 8-1 victory over Toronto.
Pena's three-run blast, Pena's first homer since April 8, in the bottom of the eighth put the game out of reach for Toronto. The 2022 World Series MVP is off to a slow start this season with a .211/.286/.408 slash line through 19 games, though he does have solid counting stats with three homers, 12 RBI and five stolen bases.
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Astros' Jeremy Pena: Steals three bases
Rotowire
Pena went 1-for-3 with a double, a run scored and three steals during Sunday's loss to Texas.
Pena swiped one bag after reaching base on a fielder's choice in the second inning before being hit by a pitch and stealing two more bags in the fourth. He then doubled and scored in the seventh. Pena had gone 13 games without a steal attempt entering Sunday. He improved his slash line to .227/.301/.409 with his second consecutive multi-hit performance.
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Astros' Jeremy Pena: Batting sixth again
Rotowire
Pena is down in the No. 6 spot in the Astros' lineup Tuesday versus the Pirates.
Pena struggled while batting leadoff in the first eight games of the season, so he's been moved down while Chas McCormick gets some run at the top of the order. Both players have hit well since the switch, so it figures to continue for the time being.
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Astros' Jeremy Pena: Smacks second homer
Rotowire
Pena went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run Saturday against the Twins.
Pena hit from atop the order in each of Houston's first eight games, but he was dropped to sixth in the order Saturday. His performance was a mixed bag, as he struck out three times prior to going yard for a two-run shot in the ninth inning. Pena now has a pair of homers on the season, though he has just a .179/.256/.385 line across 43 plate appearances.
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Astros' Jeremy Pena: Drops to No. 6 hole
Rotowire
Pena is starting at shortstop and batting sixth Saturday against the Twins, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Pena hit atop the order in the Astros' first eight games of the season, but he'll move down the lineup after going 0-for-5 with four strikeouts Friday, which dropped his average to .171. Chas McCormick will bat leadoff Saturday as manager Dusty Baker tries to replace Jose Altuve (thumb) atop the lineup.
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Astros' Jeremy Pena: Hits first homer of 2023
Rotowire
Pena went 2-for-5 with a two-run home run, a double and an additional run scored in Wednesday's 8-2 victory over Detroit.
Pena extended the Astros' lead to 8-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning with a two-run homer, his first of the season. The 2018 third-round pick hit 22 home runs across 555 plate appearances as a rookie last year, and he'll look to match, if not exceed, that mark in 2023.
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Astros' Jeremy Pena: Serves as leadoff hitter
Rotowire
Pena went 1-for-4 with a stolen base Thursday against the White Sox.
Pena was expected to drop in the batting order after hitting primarily in the two-hole in 2022. However, with Jose Altuve (hand) and Michael Brantley (shoulder) sidelined, Pena instead moved to the leadoff spot. He didn't have a particularly notable performance, though he did lead off the game with a single before proceeding to steal second base. After delivering 11 stolen bases in his rookie season, Pena could see an uptick in production due to his lineup placement and the new rules that have been implemented to benefit baserunners.
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Astros' Jeremy Pena: Sizzles during spring training
Rotowire
Pena saw action in 11 Grapefruit League games and compiled a .324/.361/.706 slash line with three home runs and a stolen base.
Fresh off a brilliant rookie season that he capped off with MVP honors in the ALCS and World Series, Pena already looks dialed in at the dish as he prepares to kick off his second big-league season Thursday versus the White Sox. Though manager Dusty Baker suggested earlier in spring training that Pena would slot further down in the lineup in 2023 than he did as a rookie, the 25-year-old shortstop now appears likely to open the upcoming campaign as Houston's leadoff or No. 2 hitter, with Jose Altuve (thumb) Michael Brantley (shoulder) ticketed for the injured list.
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Astros' Jeremy Pena: Earns ALCS MVP
Rotowire
Pena went 2-for-4 with a three-run home run and an additional run scored during Sunday's 6-5 win over the Yankees in Game 4 of the ALCS, earning the series MVP award.
Pena continued his fantastic rookie season Sunday with a massive three-run homer off Nestor Cortes that evened the score at 3-3. Pena took advantage of back-to-back walks allowed by the usually reliable Cortes, sending a cutter 408 feet into the left field seats at Yankee Stadium. This marked the rookie's third home run and sixth extra-base hit of the postseason, as he continues to shine as the successor at shortstop to Carlos Correa. Pena's next at-bats will come against the Phillies, who he played in the final regular-season series, going 2-for-6 with a home run.
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Astros' Jeremy Pena: Huge performance in Game 1
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Pena went 3-for-4 with a solo home run during Game 1 of the ALCS in the 4-2 win over the Yankees.
The remarkable rookie season for the Houston shortstop continued Wednesday as Pena tallied three more hits, including a solo shot off Frankie Montas in the seventh inning to give the Astros a three-run cushion. Pena is now 7-for-20 in the postseason, and he has homered in back-to-back games for the Astros. Coming into 2022 with big shoes to fill, the 25-year-old is proving that the Astros do not need Carlos Correa at shortstop to have success in the postseason.
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Astros' Jeremy Pena: Cleared to play
Rotowire
Pena (knee) will bat second and play shortstop in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Mariners on Tuesday.
Pena missed the final game of the regular season after fouling the ball off his knee, but there was never a suggestion that he was dealing with a serious injury. The Astros' extra time off during the wild-card round allowed him the time to heal.
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Astros' Jeremy Pena: X-rays negative, sitting Wednesday
Rotowire
Pena had X-rays on his knee come back negative after fouling a pitch off himself Tuesday, and he won't play Wednesday against the Phillies, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.
Pena went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run before he exited Tuesday's contest, and it appears he's avoided a serious injury. The 25-year-old will rest for the final game of the regular season Wednesday and will have a week to recover ahead of Game 1 of the ALDS on Oct. 11.
