Athletics at Astros
The Oakland Athletics' five-game winning streak seems like a distant memory, as the club has dropped four straight contests - and been held to one run in three of them. Oakland looks to end the slide and record the first victory on its nine-game road trip when it visits the Houston Astros on Friday for the opener of their three-game set.
Jed Lowrie is 10-for-28 over his last seven games after recording one of the three hits registered by the Athletics, who have been outscored 23-8 during their skid, including Thursday's 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. Houston is looking to avoid a third consecutive loss after completing its 3-3 road trip with a pair of one-run setbacks at Cleveland. Marwin Gonzalez was a bright spot in the defeats as he went 4-for-7 with a home run and three RBIs. Jose Altuve (shoulder) and George Springer (hamstring) were kept out of the starting lineup Thursday, but the former singled as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning before being thrown out while attempting to steal second.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, NBC Sports California (Oakland), ROOT (Houston)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Athletics RH Jharel Cotton (2-2, 4.76 ERA) vs. Astros RH Charlie Morton (1-2, 4.29)
Cotton is coming off a victory over Seattle on Saturday in which he allowed two runs and six hits over six innings. The 25-year-old native of the Virgin Islands had his best outing of the young season in his only road start on April 10, when he limited Kansas City to a pair of hits in seven scoreless frames. Cotton settled for a no-decision in his only career turn against Houston on Sept. 19 despite giving up just one run and two hits over six innings.
Morton looks to bounce back from a rough outing at Tampa Bay on Saturday, when he was tagged for five runs and eight hits in five innings. The 33-year-old from New Jersey pitched well in his two home starts this year, going 1-0 while allowing two runs over 11 frames. Morton has made 165 starts and one relief appearance in his career but will be facing Oakland for the first time.
WALK-OFFS
1. Athletics RHP Sonny Gray (lat) worked six scoreless innings in a rehab start for Triple-A Nashville on Thursday.
2. Altuve had been successful on his first seven stolen-base attempts this season.
3. Oakland optioned OF Matt Olson to Nashville to make room on the roster for RHP Kendall Graveman (shoulder), who was activated from the disabled list and suffered a hard-luck loss on Thursday after allowing two runs in six innings.