Astros at Diamondbacks
The Houston Astros ended their longest losing streak of the season last time out and hope to continue moving in a positive direction when they visit the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday for the opener of a four-game, home-and-home interleague series. The Astros lead the American League West by 12 games but had lost nine of 11 and five in a row before edging Texas 2-1 on Sunday.
Alex Bregman saw his 14-game hitting streak come to an end in the victory, but Jose Altuve continued his torrid hitting on the road, where he is batting a major league-best .420 with 51 runs scored in 56 contests. Collin McHugh takes the mound for the Astros against Arizona’s Zack Greinke in the opener as both teams bring impressive 9-1 interleague records into the series. The Diamondbacks need to turn things around as well after losing six of their last eight contests following a 7-2 setback against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday, and they are even with Colorado for the two National League wild-card spots - 4 ½ games ahead of St. Louis. Paul Goldschmidt homered for the third time in five games Sunday to push his season total to 28 and has a .329 lifetime average against Houston with five homers and 13 RBIs in 23 contests.
TV: 9:40 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Southwest (Houston), FSN Arizona
PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros RH Collin McHugh (0-1, 5.32 ERA) vs. Diamondbacks RH Zack Greinke (13-5, 3.14)
McHugh suffered his first loss last time out, when he allowed seven runs on nine hits and three walks over 5 1/3 innings against the Chicago White Sox after posting two straight quality starts. The 30-year-old Indiana native gave up three runs - two earned - and nine hits with 13 strikeouts across 12 frames in those two outings. Jake Lamb is 3-for-9 with a homer versus McHugh, who is 3-1 with a 3.54 ERA in four career games against Arizona.
Greinke has gone two games without a victory after issuing a season-high four walks while yielding three runs over 6 2/3 innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers in his last outing. The 33-year-old Floridian had gone 5-0 in a six-game span, permitting nine earned runs over 39 frames, before the last two winless starts. Altuve is 9-for-18 with a homer versus Greinke, who is 5-2 with a 2.66 ERA in eight career turns against the Astros.
WALK-OFFS
1. Arizona SS Ketel Marte has reached base in a career high-tying 13 consecutive games, going 15-for-43 in that span.
2. Houston INF Yuli Gurriel broke the franchise rookie record with his 31st double on Sunday, eclipsing Hunter Pence's mark (30 in 2007).
3. Arizona RF J.D. Martinez has recorded 17 hits since being acquired from Detroit and 11 have gone for extra bases, including seven homers.