Peña is 8-for-17 in four games since moving into the leadoff spot for the Astros. Because of his middling averages and poor walk rates, Peña has never made much sense at the top of the order. This year, though, he does have a respectable eight-percent walk rate that’s more than twice as high as his 2024 mark. He’s also raised his average from .247 to .282 the last four days.

Peña finds himself in the leadoff spot for the second consecutive contest with Jose Altuve hitting second after sitting out Sunday’s series finale against Kansas City. The Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara notes it’s the first time Altuve hasn’t led off since June 17, 2023. Peña, who has moved around between several lineup spots this season, is hitting .255 (25-for-98) with three homers and five steals through 27 games.

Peña has been moving up in the order, hitting cleanup in seven straight games before being the leadoff man on Sunday. He’s currently sporting a career-high walk rate and pull rate, which has led to a 10.3 percent barrel rate and really strong quality of contact. Peña made some changes to his swing in the off-season, and he could be really close to reaping the rewards of that.

The 27-year-old shortstop drove in the first run of the ballgame with an RBI single off of Chris Bassitt in the opening inning and then came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Brendan Rodgers. Peña singled twice more and struck out in the ballgame. On the season, he’s slashing a respectable .253/.330/.398 to go along with three long balls, eight RBI and five stolen bases.