Astros general manager Dana Brown provides some crucial updates to key pitchers Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia.

The Houston Astros are no longer sitting comfortably atop the American League West, with the Seattle Mariners right on their tail. Houston entered Monday with a

Houston Astros (69-56, first in the AL West) vs. Detroit Tigers (74-53, first in the AL Central) Detroit; Tuesday, 6:40 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Hunter Brown (10-5, 2.45 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 164 strikeouts);

Luis Garcia #77 of the Houston Astros looks on against the Minnesota Twins in the fourth inning of the game at Target Field on April 8, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports that Alvarez will begin a minor-league rehab assignment on Tuesday with Double-A Corpus Christi. He’ll serve as a designated hitter in his first rehab game back, and the club plans to have him down for “a few games” before he can be activated off the injured list.

At the MLB trade deadline, the Houston Astros made a couple of interesting deals. The biggest of the three they swung was re-acquiring Carlos Correa. They also brought in Jesus Sanchez to be a left-handed bat, as well as adding Ramon Urias for infield depth.