Astros vs. Space Cowboys Exhibition Game Thread
WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 20: Tatsuya Imai #45 of the Houston Astros pitches during spring training workouts at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches on February 20, 2026 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Houston Astros/Getty Images) | Getty Images The Houston Astros will play the first of two exhibition games against their Triple-A team, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys today. RHP Tatsuya Imai will get the start tonight for the Astros in his final tune-up before the season opposite LHP Colton Gordon and the Space Cowboys.
TONIGHT’S ASTROS STARTER: RHP Tatsuya Imai is back on the mound after last pitching in an intrasquad simulated game on March 17 at the Astros Spring Training complex in West Palm Beach, FL. Imai has been stellar in his three official Spring Training appearances, working a combined 6. 0 scoreless innings…in January, the Astros signed Imai to a three-year deal.
In 2025, he was an All Star for the Seibu Lions in the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization (NPB), where he went 10-5 with a 1. 92 ERA (35ER/163. 2IP) in 24 games.
TONIGHT’S SPACE COWBOYS STARTER: LHP Colton Gordon, who was optioned to minor league camp on March 5, is coming off a productive rookie season with the Astros, in which he recorded a 5. 34 ERA (51ER/86IP) in 20 games, including 14 starts. Gordon entered the 2025 season as one of the Astros top pitching prospects and finished the 2025 season with the third most starts in the Astros rotation.
Among AL rookies in 2025, he ranked first in walks per nine innings (1. 99) and first in strikeoutto-walk ratio (3. 79).