Welcome back, Jeremy Pena!
After being sidelined since June 27 by a fractured rib when he was hit by a pitch, the former University of Maine and current Houston Astros shortstop was hit by a pitch in his first rehab stint on Tuesday night.
The 27-year-old Pena was the designated hitter for the Astros’ AAA affiliate, the Space Cowboys of Sugar Land, Texas. And he was grazed in the elbow guard by a pitch in the sixth inning of an 8-5 loss.
He wasn’t hurt and drew a walk later in the game.
He went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts to go with the hit-by-pitch and walk. He scored twice.
Pena is having the best year of his career as he is hitting .322 which is tops on the Astros and third-best in Major League Baseball behind the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge (.342) and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Will Smith (.325).
Pena was named an MLB All-Star for the first time earlier this season.
He could return to the Astros as soon as Friday when they open a three-game series against the Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston.
Sugar Land was scheduled to host Tacoma in the second game of their six-game series on Wednesday night.
Pena leads the Astros in stolen bases with 15 and in on-base percentage (.378), slugging percentage (.489) and in OPS (On-base plus slugging percentage) at .867. He is tied for the team lead in doubles (18) and second in hits (102). He has hit 11 homers and driven in 40 runs while scoring 48.
Since moving to the leadoff spot in the order, Pena has hit .354 in 55 games.
Entering a Wednesday afternoon game against the Washington Nationals, the Astros had gone 13-13 without Pena in the lineup after going 49-33 with him.
He has committed only five errors in 265 chances and been involved in 32 double plays.
Pena burst onto the scene in dramatic fashion in 2022, becoming the first rookie position player to be named the World Series Most Valuable Player and MVP of the American League Championship series and the first rookie shortstop to win the American League Gold Glove Award.
Providence native Pena, who was born in the Dominican Republic and is the son of former Major League infielder Geronimo Pena, hit .305 during his three seasons at UMaine and was chosen to the All-America East Rookie Team and the all-league second team.
He was selected by the Astros in the third round of the 2018 Major League draft. He was the 102nd player chosen.
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