Monday night's game between the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros at Daikin Park -- a 7-6 win for the host Astros -- was not only a key matchup between American League contenders, it also occasioned the returns of three players essential to the Astros' past, present, and future. 

To wit, Carlos Correa was making his first appearance at the Astros' home ballpark since the pre-deadline trade that sent him from the Twins back to the franchise with which he spent the first seven years of his MLB career. As well, Alex Bregman was making his first trip back to Houston since he signed a free-agent contract with the Red Sox this past offseason. Bregman, like Correa, had been an Astros lifer before free agency took him elsewhere. Finally, Monday's game marked Houston starting pitcher Cristian Javier's return from Tommy John surgery, as he was making his first start in roughly 15 months. 

"I never thought I would get the chance to put on this uniform again," said Correa, who signed with the Twins prior to the 2022 season, before the game. "You know, I'm blessed that I get to do this again in front of all the fans here in Houston. We're very happy, to say the least. My whole family's super excited." 

As for Bregman, who has two Astros World Series rings to Correa's one, he told reporters seeing that familiar faces was what he was most looking forward to during his return to Houston. "Just seeing the guys, seeing the people who work at the stadium, seeing the fans and playing baseball," he said. "And I look forward to going out there, competing with the guys and trying to get some wins."

After a pre-game ceremony and a standing ovation for his first trip to the plate, Bregman promptly made his first trip to Houston as a visiting player a memorable one: 

That homer, Bregman's 15th of the season in 74 games, put him in exclusive, if narrowly defined, company: 

He would later single on an 0-2 pitch, and Bregman is now slashing .301/.382/.541 for the year. 

The rest of the night, though, would mostly belong to Bregman's former team. Correa earned a hero's welcome in his first trip to the plate back in Houston: 

Correa struck out looking in that first plate appearance, but he'd later notch an RBI single. He's now recorded a hit in nine straight games for Houston, and since the trade he's batting .390/.457/.585. On top of that production, Correa has manned third base for the first time in his professional career, which has allowed the Astros to replace the injured Isaac Paredes while also keeping All-Star and former Gold Glover Jeremy Peña at shortstop. 

As for Javier, his first start back went quite well considering the long layoff, that pitchers coming off Tommy John are often prone to early struggles, and that he was facing one of MLB's top offenses. The numbers for his Monday start: 

Of his 85 pitches on the night, 53 went for strikes. Javier was credited with a win for the first time since May 16 of last year. Javier, now 28, was a reliable presence in the Houston rotation for multiple seasons before his elbow gave out, and he'll be a key contributor down the stretch. If anything, Monday's efforts reinforced that perception. 

The Astros offense was able to hang five runs on Javier's opposite number, AL Cy Young contender Garrett Crochet. That equals the most runs Crochet has allowed in a start this season. Another Houston deadline pickup, infielder Ramón Urías, had three hits including his first home run as an Astro. 

The Red Sox made some late noise with four runs in the seventh, but they were held there. The outcome means that the Astros now lead the Mariners by one game at the top of the AL West Standings. The Red Sox, meantime, have now lost three in a row. They remain in second wild card position in the AL and trail the Blue Jays by 4 ½ games in the AL East.