Houston shuffled its lineup, moving Altuve to the cleanup spot and Correa to the third slot to spark a lagging offense against Toronto. It marks Altuve’s first cleanup role since 2014, a practical tweak Espada hopes will jump-start the batch of slumping bats.

Correa has produced at a .290 clip with a .755 OPS since the deadline, while Altuve has struggled to a .162/.231/.293 over 25 games. Peña’s return from the IL and Alvarez’s return add bounce and depth to a club that posted 3.9 runs per game in 35 games post-deadline; the shift aims to unlock the lineup’s ceiling.