Astros at Angels
The Los Angeles Angels hope to have Mike Trout back in the starting lineup when they begin a three-game series against the Houston Astros on Friday. The American League Player of the Month for April, Trout was rested in Thursday's 11-3 loss at Seattle due to tightness in his hamstring.
Trout is riding a career-high 16-game hitting streak that began with a two-hit performance at Houston on April 17 for the Angels, who are coming off a 3-3 road trip. The Astros completed a 5-2 homestand Thursday with a 10-4 setback against Texas that halted their four-game winning streak. Marwin Gonzalez has been piping hot for the Astros, homering in four consecutive contests and belting six over his last six games. The 28-year-old Venezuelan, who is four blasts shy of matching the career high of 13 he set in 141 contests last year, has gone deep four times in three games this month after hitting five shots in April.
TV: 10:07 p.m. ET, ROOT (Houston), FSN West (Los Angeles)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros LH Dallas Keuchel (5-0, 1.21 ERA) vs. Angels RH Jesse Chavez (2-4, 4.50)
Keuchel looks to continue his brilliance as he earned American League Pitcher of the Month honors after winning five of his six starts in April. The 29-year-old former AL Cy Young Award winner has allowed more than one run just once this season, yielding two in a complete-game victory at Cleveland on April 25, and has worked at least seven innings in each of his outings. Keuchel improved to 10-2 with a 3.50 ERA in his career against Los Angeles after giving up one run over seven frames on April 19.
Chavez has lost three of his last four starts, including an outing at Texas on Saturday in which he surrendered four runs and eight hits over six innings. The 33-year-old Californian's longest outing this season came at Houston on April 17, when he allowed two runs - one earned - in seven frames of a hard-luck loss. That setback dropped Chavez to 3-2 with a 2.70 ERA in 22 career appearances (six starts) against the Astros.
WALK-OFFS
1. Angels RHP Ricky Nolasco showed improvement after experiencing tightness in his right calf during Wednesday's outing and hopes to make his next start.
2. Houston SS Carlos Correa is 6-for-9 with two doubles and a homer in his last two games.
3. Los Angeles optioned Brooks Pounders to Triple-A Salt Lake to make room on the roster for fellow RHP Alex Meyer, who took the loss on Thursday after yielding six runs on eight hits and three walks in four innings.