HOUSTON — Houston and Arizona got an All-Star back from injury Friday before the start of a three-game series, with right fielder Kyle Tucker returning for the Astros and second baseman Ketel Marte coming off the injured list for the Diamondbacks.

Tucker has been out since fracturing his right shin with a foul ball on June 3. He still isn’t 100% and was in the lineup at designated hitter Friday night before the Astros have him play defense.

“It’s just kind of day to day to see how he feels,” Houston manager Joe Espada said. “But it’s not going to be like pencil him in days in a row, we’re just going to have to wait and see how he feels.”

Espada was asked what he expects from Tucker when he does play right field.

“Defensively we don’t know yet until he goes out there, but running you’ll see 75-80%,” he said.

Tucker was off to a great start before his injury and had 11 doubles, 19 homers and 40 RBIs in 60 games.

Marte, also in the lineup Friday at designated hitter, had a much shorter stint on the injured list. He has been out since spraining his left ankle Aug. 18.

“He’s looking great and we’re really excited about how hard he worked to make this day happen,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “He’s one of the best players in the National League, so getting him in this clubhouse, in this dugout, in this lineup is good for all of us, including him. And I know he’s excited to be back.”

Lovullo has said that Marte will get some time at designated hitter before he returns to second base.

Marte was batting .298 with 30 homers and 81 RBIs before his injury.

Outfielder Jorge Barrosa was optioned to Triple-A Reno Thursday to make room for Marte on the roster.

Houston optioned infielder Zach Dezenzo to Triple-A Sugar Land and designated left-hander Parker Mushinski for assignment Friday when Tucker was reinstated from the 60-day injured list.

ARIZONA — The Arizona Cardinals aren’t expecting WR Xavier Weaver to be healthy for their regular season opener against the Buffalo Bills.

“Probably not going to go,” said Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon when asked about Weaver, who has been dealing with an oblique injury all week.

“Yeah, he’s still battling that hip/oblique injury. He’s trending towards next week and should be good.”

Weaver – an undrafted rookie receiver out of Colorado – was a pleasant surprise to make the final 53 man roster. With a talented group of pass catchers such as Marvin Harrison Jr., Michael Wilson and Greg Dortch, Weaver needed to not only thrive on the offensive side of the ball but also special teams to make the roster.

He did just that, and with Zay Jones being suspended for the first five games of the season due to violation of the league’s personal conduct policy, Weaver surely would have received opportunities with Arizona’s offense in Buffalo.

Gannon confirmed fellow backup WR Zach Pascal would be fine filling in while the Cardinals have three receivers ready to be called up from the practice squad, if needed.

Weaver did not practice at any point this week.

As for the other two Cardinals on the Week 1 injury report – TE Tip Reiman and S Joey Blount – both are expected to be out there at Friday’s practice. Reiman has been limited all week with an ankle injury while Blount was a new addition to the injury report on Thursday with a back ailment.

After today’s practice, the Cardinals and Bills will both label players with game status designations such as out, questionable or doubtful.

Though not quite made official by the team, Arizona will not see Weaver on their roster to begin the 2024 season.

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Most of Arizona’s wins have been blowouts, but the Wildcats finished their pre-conference slate the same way they started it—with a 1-0 victory. This time it was New Mexico State that was the victim.

The Wildcats finally took the field at home in Mulcahy Soccer Stadium after three road games. Thursday night’s contest was their only match this week. It was also their lone homestand in a seven-game stretch that has them return to the road for three conference games starting Thursday, Sept. 12.

Arizona took the lead in the 19th minute when senior Nyota Katembo knocked a shot into the air. It didn’t go into the net, but it found fellow senior Marley Chappel just in front of the net. Chappel put it in to score her first goal of the season and just the second in her career. She last scored during her freshman year against Texas Tech.

“Honestly, I was definitely more there for just reassurance purposes,” Chappel said. “I think (Katembo) did a lot of the hard work, but I think collectively, it was a good goal between the three forwards up top. I think we figured out some good movements, and I was there for her second ball, and it worked out. But that’s what happens in soccer.”

That work between the players—forwards, midfielders, and defenders—is leading to more success this season. Last year, Arizona had a total of four assists through its first seven matches. It has a whopping 13 this year. Chappel has accounted for two of them and Katembo had her first against the Aggies.

Working together has led to more scoring, in general. Chappel’s goal gave the Wildcats 16 this season. They had 12 through seven games last year.

“I think playing with everybody’s strength and knowing our teammate’s strength and weakness just helps us be better in the final third,” Katembo said. “Which balls are better for certain people, if you want it in the space or at your feet, I think we can recognize that way easier.”

The Wildcats did not have as much offensive success in the second half.

“I think our first half was strong, and I think our second half, they made some good adjustments,” Moros said. “It was tight to play through. They were jumping on all the through balls that we were trying to slip into kind of our intermediate line between their midfield and their back line, and they were picking those balls off. So we had an opportunity to adjust there where I think we can get better from that when we look at it on film, and I think we’re well prepared going into conference.”

Despite the diminished offensive success in the latter half, the Wildcats still outperformed their opponent. They had 13 shots to five for the Aggies. Six of Arizona’s shots were on goal while NMSU had three on goal.

UA also had more corner kicks than its opponent for the first time since Aug. 22 against NAU. The difference was just one (6 to 5), but it was positive for a team that has given up 37 corners this year while only taking 28.

The defense kept up its end of the bargain to keep a clean sheet after the offense put the team in front.

“We’re still young in the backline, but I think they’re doing a really good job just maintaining and just managing the game whenever we’re up 1-0,” Katembo said.

Two of those young defenders who helped maintain the lead were Zoe Mendiola and Kennedy Fletcher. Both were making their second straight starts. Unlike Mendiola, Fletcher didn’t play the entire game, but she was in there at crunch time.

“Kennedy’s confidence and ability to communicate, especially as a freshman, she’s not intimidated by anything,” Moros said. “She knows the game well, and she’s willing to share information. Very proactive. She plays center back, so she has those good organizational skills. She understands the backline shape really well, so she can help out and compact space at critical moments, force play in the right directions, so that even if the other team gets opportunities they are not as good opportunities as they could be. And she’s very confident on the ball, so she can play out of the back really well. Good in the air, just an all-around, really quality player. Has really good maturity for a very young player.”

Fletcher and Mendiola have broken through. They are not only getting playing time but starting now. Other freshmen are getting considerable time on the field even if they aren’t part of the starting 11. With only one game this week, Moros thinks it’s a good time for those who haven’t broken through to show what they can do as the team gets additional time for training.

“Oh, thank God, we have training,” Moros said. “Pretty much just last week, we’re like, well, we’ve got six training sessions this season that aren’t a match day minus one or a match day plus. So a match day minus one is a taper day. You’re getting ready for a game. Match day plus one, you’re recovering from the day before. Those aren’t real training days. And with the Thursday, Sunday, Thursday, Sunday, Thursday, Sunday, you don’t train. So this weekend is the first time we get to train, basically since preseason. So the team is looking forward to it. We’re looking forward to it. The players who haven’t cracked into the lineup, they’re dying for that opportunity, as well.”

Lead photo by Marison Bilagody / Arizona Athletics