Astros at Diamondbacks
Justin Verlander looks to extend his regular-season winning streak to 12 games on Sunday as the Houston Astros visit the Arizona Diamondbacks for the rubber match of their three-game series. Verlander has yet to lose during his time with the Astros, who have dropped four of their last five games.
Arizona snapped a three-game losing streak with Saturday’s 4-3 victory as A.J. Pollock delivered a walk-off RBI single with the bases loaded in the ninth inning. The Diamondbacks improved to 17-1 when scoring four or more runs and received a spark at the top of the lineup from David Peralta, who went 2-for-4 with a solo blast and is batting .296 with six homers and 19 RBIs. Houston outscored its opponents 55-6 during its seven-game road winning streak but came up short on Saturday despite the efforts of George Springer, who belted his seventh homer. Marwin Gonzalez is hitting .224 after going 0-for-2 on Saturday and has struggled to build on his success from last season, when he set career highs with a .303 average, 23 homers and 90 RBIs.
TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Southwest (Houston), FS Arizona
PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros RH Justin Verlander (4-0, 1.13 ERA) vs. Diamondbacks RH Matt Koch (1-0, 2.37)
Verlander tied a career high with 14 strikeouts, allowed just three hits and did not walk a batter in eight innings of a no-decision against the New York Yankees on Tuesday. The six-time All-Star hasn’t lost since joining Houston last year, going 9-0 with a 1.10 ERA in 12 starts. Alex Avila is 3-for-8 with two home runs against Verlander, who is 3-0 with a 2.61 ERA in three career starts against Arizona.
Koch turned in another solid outing on Tuesday, allowing three runs - two earned - and four hits over five innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The 27-year-old native of Iowa has moved into the rotation in place of Taijuan Walker, who is out for the year with a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament. A third-round pick of the New York Mets in 2012, Koch has posted a 14-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his first four games (three starts) this season.
WALK-OFFS
1. Houston is 45-20 in interleague play since manager A.J. Hinch took over in 2015.
2. The Diamondbacks optioned Kris Medlen to Triple-A Reno and recalled fellow RHP Braden Shipley.
3. Springer owns a 15-game hitting streak against Arizona and is 29-for-64 (.453) with four home runs and 12 RBIs in his career against the Diamondbacks.