Sep 17, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Pena (3) reacts to his stand up double against the Texas Rangers in the first inning at Daikin Park. Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Astros Hope Jeremy Peña Won't Miss Much Time with Oblique Injury

Originally posted on Houston Astros on SI
By Sean O'Leary | Last updated Sep 22, 2025 9:00 AM ET

The Houston Astros are fighting for their postseason life. After having swept the Texas Rangers, they entered their final series against the Seattle Mariners with the division on the line. Entering the final week, the Astros are fighting for their postseason lives.

Houston is already without their best hitter, Yordan Alvarez, who has an ankle sprain. Heading into Sunday's game shortstop Jeremy Peña was scratched from the lineup.

The All-Star swatted a grand slam on Saturday, but was taken out of the lineup due to left oblique soreness, according to the team. Luckily for Houston, it shouldn't be serious, according to GM Dana Brown, who spoke on the pre-game radio show in comments relayed by The Athletic's Chandler Rome on X (formerly Twitter).

Peña's Season

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Peña already missed time earlier in the season with a rib fracture, but had been healthy since the beginning of August. It's been the best season of his young career so far, slashing .304/.363/.477 with career highs in OPS (.840), OPS+ (131) and bWAR (5.6). He has hit 17 homers and driven in 62 while stealing 20 bases.

The 27-year-old has been on fire, going 9-for-19 in his last five games, hiting two homers, two doubles and driving in six. When he was scratched, it gave the Astros a bit of a scare. They could not afford to be without him or Alvarez down the stretch.

Brown told radio broadcaster Robert Ford during the pregame show that the shortstop will have imgaging done on his oblique.

"...but we feel like this could be just a two-day thing. It's minor based on the initial evaluation of it," he explained.

That should be a huge sigh of relief for Houston, as their best hitter could be back in the lineup on Tuesday against the Athletics after an off day on Monday.

Mauricio Dubon took over for Peña in Sunday's lineup after he was originally set to play left field. Jesus Sanchez took over for Dubon while Zach Cole played right.

Dubon has been a great utility player for the Astros this season, but him taking over at shortstop full time would have been a huge blow to the lineup moving forward. With some struggles from Framber Valdez and Jason Alexander in the past week, they need all of the offensive fire power they can get.

In the end, it seemed to be a precautionary scratch of Peña on Sunday in order to give him two days rest. He will be hugely important for the Astros and their fight for a Wild Card spot.

This article first appeared on Houston Astros on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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