Rays at Astros
The Houston Astros surprisingly did not make a major deal to bolster their pitching staff at Monday's non-waiver trade deadline, but if their offense continues to perform like it did the same night, it won’t matter much. The Astros look to match their impressive performance at the plate in the series opener when they host the Tampa Bay Rays for the second contest of their four-game set on Tuesday.
Houston reportedly was attempting to acquire a big-name starting pitcher such as Sonny Gray or Yu Darvish, along with closer Zach Britton, but had to settle for the veteran Francisco Liriano in a deal with Toronto. The Astros registered 17 hits in a 14-7 victory on Monday and hope to provide the same support for Mike Fiers when he opposes All-Star Chris Archer, who is 4-2 with a 1.68 ERA in his career versus Houston. The Rays picked up three relievers and slugger Lucas Duda in separate deals last week and sent infielder Tim Beckham to Baltimore on Monday before losing for the ninth time in 12 contests to drop 4 ½ games out of first place in the American League East. Corey Dickerson has knocked in five runs over the last two games for Tampa Bay, which has given up 34 over its last five contests.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, FSN Sun (Tampa Bay), AT&T SportsNet-Southwest (Houston)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays RH Chris Archer (7-6, 3.80 ERA) vs. Astros RH Mike Fiers (7-5, 3.71)
Archer is winless in his last four appearances but has strung together six straight quality starts and 13 in a row in which he has completed six frames. The 28-year-old North Carolina native, who is second in the AL with 177 strikeouts, was unable to record a victory last time out as the Rays botched what would have been the last out in the ninth inning. Marwin Gonzalez is 4-for-11 and Jose Altuve 5-for-18 with a homer against Archer, who did not face Houston during their series in April.
Fiers could not extend his winning streak to three games last time out as he permitted three runs, five hits and three walks over four innings in a loss at Philadelphia. The 32-year-old Floridian has posted ERAs under 3.00 in each of the last two months and has been better at home with a 2.85 mark as opposed to 4.50 on the road. Logan Morrison (6-for-12) and Evan Longoria (3-for-8, two homers) cause trouble for Fiers, who gave up three runs over five frames in a no-decision against the Rays on April 21.
WALK-OFFS
1. Houston RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (lower back) was placed on the 10-day disabled list while 1B AJ Reed and RHP Michael Feliz were recalled from Triple-A Fresno and Double-A Corpus Christi, respectively.
2. Duda homered for the third time in four games with the Rays on Monday and has hit safely in five in a row, including his last contest with the New York Mets.
3. Altuve finished July with 48 hits - including four homers - in 99 at-bats to raise his major league-best batting average to .368.