Joe Espada Rejoins Houston Astros Following Brief Family Emergency

Houston Astros manager Joe Espada rejoined the club in New York to manage Tuesday's series opener against the Yankees following a brief absence during Sunday's loss to the Athletics due to a family emergency.

Bench coach Omar Lopez managed Houston during Sunday's 7-6 home loss to Oakland, which dropped the Astros to a 65-66 record. The defeat left Houston tied with the Texas Rangers atop the American League West division standings.

Team officials confirmed that the 50-year-old manager accompanied the squad on its road trip to New York. Espada, who is in the final year of a three-year managerial contract, previously spent six seasons as Houston's bench coach before taking over the top dugout spot.

Lopez addressed the situation surrounding Espada's unexpected absence during postgame media obligations on Sunday afternoon.

"I just talked to him very briefly; he's not feeling well," said Omar Lopez, Bench Coach for the Houston Astros. "He's very heartbroken how he's going through this situation with his family."

Lopez noted that the emergency involved a personal situation that Espada had been dealing with over the previous several weeks.

"People don't know that or realize that when he steps up here every night and also prepares himself to manage, that's not an easy thing and a lot of people don't know that," said Omar Lopez, Bench Coach for the Houston Astros. "People, a lot of times, are really hard on people when they don't know what's going on in our lives. We're human; we have another life, too. We all have to go through issues and problems, but my job as a bench coach is to support Joe and make sure he's mentally and physically strong every single day to help this team, to help the entire organization move on to the next step."

The Astros visit New York for a three-game set against the Yankees before continuing their road swing against the New York Mets.