Maine Professional Athletes

Jeremy Peña saved some of his best baseball for last.

The Maine alum and Houston Astros shortstop closed out the 2026 MLB regular season in emphatic fashion, piling up multi-hit games, multiple home runs, and clutch RBI across a torrid late-September stretch that has him looking dangerous heading into October.

The week's high point came Sunday, Sept. 27, in a doubleheader against Oakland. In the nightcap — a 13-2 Astros blowout — Peña went 4-for-4 with 2 home runs, 4 RBI, and 4 runs scored, the kind of line that turns heads in any context. He backed that up in the opener of the twin bill, going 2-for-however-many with an RBI and a run scored as Houston took that one as well. It was a statement afternoon for a player who has made a habit of rising to the moment.

The momentum carried into the final week. On Tuesday, Sept. 29, Peña went 1-for-1 with a run scored against the Chicago White Sox, and then on Wednesday, Sept. 30, he delivered again — 2 hits, a home run, an RBI, and a run scored in a 3-7 result against Chicago, finishing the game slashing an eye-catching .375.

Across the four-game snapshot, Peña collected 9 hits, 3 home runs, 6 RBI, and 7 runs scored. For a Black Bears faithful that watched him develop in Orono before he exploded onto the national stage — winning World Series MVP in 2022 — this final regular-season push is a reminder of just how far Maine's most prominent MLB export has come.

No other Maine alumni logged notable stat lines in this period. Cody Laweryson (Twins, P), Matt Pushard (Cardinals, P), and Matthew Pushard (Marlins, P) are all active at the big-league level, keeping the Black Bears represented across the league — but this week belonged entirely to Peña.

With the Astros wrapping the regular season and postseason positioning on the line, Peña's timing couldn't be better. If his late-September form is any indication, Houston's shortstop is locked in — and Maine fans have every reason to watch October closely.

Jeremy Pena looked like a different player this week — and Maine fans had every reason to enjoy it.

The Astros shortstop, who had been one of Houston's most concerning question marks heading into the season's final stretch, erupted in spectacular fashion on Wednesday, September 16, going 3-for-3 with two home runs and two RBIs in a 4-2 Astros win over the Kansas City Royals. Fans were barely settled when Pena led off the game with a blast over the train tracks, his 5th leadoff home run of the season, setting the tone immediately. He wasn't done. Pena doubled down later in the game to put the contest away, single-handedly accounting for half of Houston's four runs. Yordan Alvarez added a two-run shot for his 39th homer, but this night belonged to the Black Bear.

It was a necessary eruption. Pena had been mired in a prolonged late-season slump that drew legitimate concern inside and outside the organization, with Sports Illustrated noting he had become "a tough watch over the last six weeks." The Carlos Correa injury situation had only amplified the scrutiny — manager Joe Espada confirmed this week that Correa will not return in 2026, dashing any hope of a lineup boost that might have taken pressure off Pena down the stretch.

Carrying the Load

Even during the cold stretch, Pena was showing up in the box score. In a 5-2 loss to Kansas City on Thursday, September 17, he went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs — his third consecutive multi-hit game against the Royals. Over those two nights alone, Pena accounted for six of the Astros' 12 total hits, a striking stat that underscores both his resurgence and how badly Houston needed it.

The week ended on a quieter note. In Saturday's loss to Atlanta, Pena went 1-for-1 in limited action, with his average settling at .276 on the season — up eight points from where it sat after a scoreless outing against Tampa Bay on September 13.

The Bigger Picture

Pena's revival matters beyond individual numbers. With Houston fighting for playoff positioning in the season's final weeks and their lineup battered by injuries, the Astros needed their shortstop to rediscover his stroke. This week, he delivered. Whether the breakout holds through the final push remains to be seen, but Pena gave Houston — and Maine alumni everywhere — a reminder of exactly what he's capable of when he's locked in.

No other UMaine alumni logged notable MLB activity during the September 13–19 window.