Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today’s games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Thanks for being here.

Jose Altuve broke out of a three-week slump during the Astros’ 8-5 win over the Tigers on Monday night, and it might have been due to the distance between second base and left field. Let us explain.

Altuve was the Astros’ leadoff hitter in their first 26 games this season. He’s been penciled into that spot 918 times during the regular season with Houston; only Craig Biggio has garnered more starts at leadoff (1,560).

But this year, preparing to lead off — especially at home, when he’s playing defense first — has taken a little more energy out of Altuve, who turns 35 years old next week. That’s because, obviously, jogging to the dugout from left field requires a bit more effort than coming in from his old position of second base.

So, Altuve had an unusual request for manager Joe Espada heading into the series opener against Detroit. The initial plan was to keep him atop the lineup, but Altuve asked to be moved down to second. Espada obliged.

“I think it’s going to give me more time to come back from left field,” Altuve said about the switch.

That little extra time — maybe 10 seconds? — seemed to pay off immediately as Altuve dropped down a bunt in his first at-bat and dashed to first base for an infield hit at 30.7 feet per second, his fastest sprint speed of the season. He later slugged his first home run since April 7 and recorded three RBIs in a game for the first time since July 12, 2024.

Now, it would be disingenuous to say that Altuve’s ask was only about preserving himself. He also wanted to give some shine to his former double-play partner, shortstop Jeremy Peña, who came into the contest batting .317 over his previous 17 games. He responded with two hits out of the leadoff spot and scored twice, including on Altuve’s two-run dinger.

“Jose always brings up really, really good ideas,” Espada said. “Really good.”

Altuve has been pushing for the club to sign the 27-year-old Peña to a contract extension, something that Altuve did before the 2024 season to make himself an “Astro for life.” He still has plenty of productive baseball in front of him and four years left on that deal. And there will be some nights, like Monday night, when just a few seconds can apparently make a difference.

— Brian Murphy

• Royals @ Rays (7:05 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): The Rays are riding a five-game winning streak and the Royals have won six of their last seven, so these are two teams playing much better baseball of late. Bobby Witt Jr. has been carrying Kansas City’s offense and has hit safely in a career-best 19 straight games (maybe he’s your choice today in Beat the Streak), while Tampa Bay’s recent run has coincided with the callup of its own dynamic young speedster, Chandler Simpson.
• D-backs @ Mets (7:10 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): The Mets return home after a brief road trip to Washington that featured the lowest of lows and the highest of highs, and they are trying to improve on their 12-1 record at Citi Field. The D-backs have actually been better on the road than at Chase Field, where they just went 2-4 on their homestand, so perhaps they’ll be relieved by this change of scenery.
• Giants @ Padres (9:40 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): Finally, one of the NL West clashes you’ve all been patiently waiting for, and it comes with a pitching matchup you will not want to miss. Logan Webb (1.98) and Nick Pivetta (1.20) enter with two of the six lowest ERAs in the NL, and both of them have been going deep into games. We could be in for an old-school pitchers’ duel here.

Eduardo Rodriguez will take the mound tonight in Queens, but he spent part of yesterday getting some throwing work in with a complete stranger in Central Park. The D-backs left-hander was looking for a good spot to play catch when he came across a man who wanted “to show us his skills.” A video shows E-Rod throwing with the guy, who was clearly trying to work on his double-play transfer. It was a heartening moment for both of them, showing baseball’s ability to bring people together, even if they’ve never met and may never cross paths again. “This is why I love this sport!!!” Rodriguez captioned his post on Instagram.

From North Carolina, in center field, 6-6 …

Wait, Michael Jordan is not returning to baseball, but fans may do a double take as the White Sox take the field vs. the Astros this Friday, when the club is set to debut its new Nike City Connect uniforms.

Coming off a major success with their first City Connect endeavor, the South Siders went next level with their second iteration, developing an all-city collab with the Chicago Bulls to highlight the two franchises’ rich history.

The fits are a unique blend of design elements from both teams — black and red colorways and pinstripes connect the Bulls’ iconic years in the ’90s and the White Sox heritage of dapper drip, while the neckline offers a subtle nod to all nine championships that both franchises have won.

And while the link up between MLB and NBA franchises is itself groundbreaking, there’s another first: two different on-field caps that offer an ability to remix the kits depending on the day.

Something you may not know: It’s not the first time the South Siders have repped red as their primary color. They donned red pinstripes with the iconic gothic SOX emblazoned on the front of their jerseys back in the early 1970s — and of course, the late Dick Allen wore it well.

— Ismail Soyugenc

Brandon Nimmo tied the Mets club record with nine RBIs in yesterday’s blowout win in Washington, but that’s not what we’re here to talk about. Instead, let’s zoom in on the seventh inning, which began when Francisco Lindor was hit by reliever Cole Henry’s first pitch. Eight batters later, after a Nimmo grand slam, Lindor was hit by another pitch, again from Henry, who was gamely soaking up outs in a lopsided affair. Lindor became the first player to be hit by pitches twice in the same inning since Brandon Moss on April 25, 2014, and he’s the seventh player overall since 1974, when play-by-play data began.

Pick one of the day’s games, open up your board and see if you can get bingo with these baseball occurrences. It’s our favorite way to play this classic. Play free >>

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