INSIDE: Astros hold off Nationals for 7-6victory. page C7 The Astros cleared the traffic blockingthe fast lane to the major leagues for Jose Altuve on Tuesday,trading veteran second baseman Jeff Keppinger. The San FranciscoGiants sent minor league pitchers Henry Sosa and Jason Stoffel inreturn for Keppinger, who is batting .307 with four home runs and20 RBIs in 43 games this season. On top of receiving relief fromthe rest of Keppinger's $2.3 million salary this season, the Astros opened a spot on the activeroster, which they filled by purchasing the contract of Altuve fromClass AA Corpus Christi.