Streaming only

Thursday’s game to be YouTube exclusive.

Fans looking to watch Thursday’s Astros homestand opener will have to view it on a different platform than usual.

The 7 p.m. game against the Los Angeles Angels from Minute Maid Park will be streamed exclusively on YouTube instead of the team’s usual carrier, AT&T SportsNet Southwest.

The full-game broadcast will be available for free without having to log into YouTube. Fans can access the broadcast by going to YouTube.com/MLB or searching “MLB” in the YouTube app on their smartphones, tablets or smart TVs.

A pregame show also will stream at YouTube’s MLB channel beginning at 6:30 p.m., hosted by MLB Network’s Scott Braun and analyst Jim Thome, the Baseball Hall of Famer.

Astros fans will get to hear a couple of familiar voices during the broadcast. Television analyst Geoff Blum will work the game with play-by-play man Matt Vasgersian of MLB Network and ESPN and Angels TV analyst Mark Gubicza. Former Astros radio voice Brett Dolan also will be on the broadcast as a field reporter.

Some interactive elements of the broadcast will include fans voting on a player of the game, a live chat with 40 “sports-focused YouTube creators,” in-game polls, and for fans watching with a YouTube TV subscription, the ability to rewatch key plays.

Thursday’s game is the second of 21 that will be aired exclusively on YouTube this season.

It isn’t the first Astros game to air on a social networking platform in recent years. Two games during the 2017 season were streamed on Facebook as part of its partnership with MLB, but those games also were aired on the team’s regional sports network.