Astros at Giants
Two teams that need to turn their fortunes around in a hurry meet Tuesday when the Houston Astros visit the San Francisco Giants to open a two-game interleague set. The Astros have dropped six of their last seven while San Francisco is 2 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West and 3 1/2 out in the National League wild card race after suffering a four-game sweep at the hands of the host Chicago Cubs.
Houston gave up two runs in the ninth to lose at Oakland 5-4 on Sunday and lead the Los Angeles Angels by one game atop the American League West. Jose Altuve was 7-for-17 in the four-game series at Oakland for the Astros, who send left-hander Scott Kazmir to the mound Tuesday. The Giants split a pair at Houston on May 12-13 and are 15-10 versus southpaw starters as ace lefty Madison Bumgarner tries to pull San Francisco from its tailspin. Buster Posey is 14-for-34 in August after batting .400 in July while teammate Hunter Pence boasts a seven-game hitting streak for the Giants.
TV: 10:15 p.m. ET, ROOT (Houston), CSN Bay Area (San Francisco)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros LH Scott Kazmir (6-6, 2.08 ERA) vs. Giants LH Madison Bumgarner (12-6, 3.28)
Kazmir suffered his first loss with Houston last time out, giving up four runs (one earned) over 5 2/3 innings at Texas. The 31-year-old blanked his first two opponents with the Astros over 14 2/3 innings after being acquired from Oakland. Kazmir, who has been better at home (4-2, 1.22 ERA) than on the road (2-4, 3.20), beat the Giants in their only meeting last year with seven scoreless innings.
Bumgarner goes for his 80th career victory after winning four of his last five starts, including 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball last time out at Atlanta. The 26-year-old has limited opponents to two or fewer runs in four of his last five starts and 14 out of his 22 outings overall in 2015. Altuve is 5-for-14 with a home run versus Bumgarner, who is 3-1 with a 2.93 ERA in four career starts against the Astros.
WALK-OFFS
1. Giants OF Nori Aoki was struck in the head by a pitch from Jake Arrieta on Sunday and his status for the series is uncertain.
2. Houston CF Carlos Gomez is 2-for-19 in the last five games after going 8-for-23 in his first five contests following the trade with Milwaukee.
3. San Francisco SS Brandon Crawford was 5-for-15 with a homer and four RBIs in the series at Chicago over the weekend.