Athletics at Astros
Carlos Correa and the majors-best Houston Astros aim to continue their torrid pace on Tuesday when the club begins a three-game series against the visiting Oakland Athletics. The 22-year-old carries a 14-game on-base streak into the series opener versus Oakland, against which Houston has won eight of nine encounters this season and 15 of 16 dating to last year.
Correa is 18-for-54 with three homers, nine RBIs and 12 runs scored during his streak, but his 2-for-13 career performance with five strikeouts against Tuesday starter Sean Manaea isn't as promising. Correa ripped an RBI double in Sunday's 8-2 triumph over Seattle to conclude the Astros' 6-1 road trip, although the club has sputtered of late at Minute Maid Park with just two wins in its last seven outings. Oakland answered a disastrous four-game sweep against Houston by bringing out the brooms in a three-game set versus the Chicago White Sox, outscoring the latter 18-5 to improve its woeful road record to 12-25. Khris Davis had an RBI single to highlight his third straight multi-hit performance in Sunday's 5-3 win and is batting .314 with five homers against Houston this season.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, NBCSN Bay Area (Oakland), ROOT Southwest (Houston)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Athletics LH Sean Manaea (6-4, 4.05 ERA) vs. Astros RH Mike Fiers (5-2, 3.81)
Manaea was handed his first blemish in his last seven starts on Wednesday when he allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings of a 5-1 setback to Houston. The 25-year-old fanned eight batters in that outing and has struck out 44 in his last six. Manaea has pitched well versus the Astros but owns an 0-2 mark despite allowing a combined eight earned runs in six career starts versus the club.
Fiers has turned the tables on a tough start to the season, posting a 4-0 mark with a 1.72 ERA in his last five outings. The 32-year-old yielded one run for the third straight start on Wednesday and scattered three hits over six innings to outduel Manaea and topple the Athletics. Fiers kept the ball in the park for the fifth straight outing and hasn't surrendered a home run in his last 31 1/3 innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Oakland DH Ryon Healy collected four hits against Chicago this past weekend after going 1-for-14 with six strikeouts in the previous series versus Houston.
2. Astros 2B Jose Altuve has hit safely in five straight and nine of his last 10 contests.
3. Athletics 2B Franklin Barreto has one homer, two RBIs, three runs scored and four hits in two games since being called up from Triple-A Nashville on Saturday.