This is a bookend series of sorts for the Oakland Athletics and Houston Astros as the first place Astros host the cellar dweller Athletics in the three-game divisional series. Houston has been struggling through injuries to its rotation, but will be at home for what should be a nice easy series before getting back to the grind when the Yankees come to town over the weekend.
This series will be contested from Tuesday, June 27, 2017 through Thursday, June 29, 2017 at Minute Maid Park in Houston. Thursday’s game will be broadcast live on MLB Network for those outside the local viewing area.
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Pitching Matchups
It’s been a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story for Mike Fiers this season, except backwards.
The right-hander was 1-2 with a 5.21 ERA and 18 homers allowed in nine starts, but has really turned the corner when the Astros needed him most. He’s the only Houston starter to begin the year in the rotation and continue through this point without injury.
What’s more, he’s been able to provide a stabilizing presence the last five times through the order to act as the veteran presence in a rotation full of Four-A starters and not-quite-ready prospects.
Fiers is 4-0 in his last five starts, pitching to a 1.72 ERA. What’s been the difference? His command, particularly in the zone. The opposition cannot square him up any more and he’s not allowed a single homer in 31.1 innings.
To counter Fiers, the A’s will turn to left-hadner Sean Manaea who lost to Houston his last time out, allowing three runs in six innings.
Much like Fiers, Manaea has thrown the ball really well over the last month. He’s now 5-1 in his last seven starts. Overall, the young southpaw is 6-4 with a 4.05 ERA and 1.145 WHIP. He’s Oakland’s leader in innings pitched and the only active A’s hurler with an ERA+ above 100 at 103.
The series will continue with Jesse Hahn pitching against David Paulino on Wednesday and Jharel Cotton toeing the rubber opposite Brad Peacock on Thursday.
For the middle game, Paulino will enter the game having won back-to-back starts though he still allowed four runs in 11.1 innings during those wins. That is an improvement, but the young right-hander will need help from the offense and bullpen to keep his winning streak alive.
He’s now 2-0 with a 5.04 ERA and 1.440 WHIP in five starts. He’s doing well at forcing the opposition to hit their way on, walking just seven in 25 innings, but he has allowed four homers and 29 walks.
As for Hahn, he’s another young starter with a high WHIP, but he does have more experience with this being the fourth season he’s had a chance to log big league starts.
The righty is 18-19 with a 4.02 ERA in his career and is 3-5 with a 4.66 ERA in 2017. Most of his career wins have come in 2014 and 2015. He’s 5-9 since the start of 2016. He’s also coming off a two-inning, 10-run outing against this same Houston team. Before that blowout loss, Hahn’s ERA was barely over three and a half.
For Thursday’s matchup, Peacock will have the advantage of extra rest after getting his Sunday start pushed back as he was out on paternity leave.
The right-hander has been very good since joining the rotation. As a swing man for most of his career, he’s been better than expected as a fill in, pitching to a 3.81 ERA in his six starts. He’s been great, striking out nearly 14 batters per nine innings in his starts.
Cotton, on the other hand, pitched well in his last start, but left with a blister issue. We’ll see if that affects him on Thursday. Cotton will try and build off the good outing to improve his 5.02 ERA and 5.15 FIP.
Who's Hot?
Oakland’s pitching has struggled, but the offense has had a pretty strong month of June and that starts with Ryon Healy.
The slugging designated hitter is batting .278 for the month with eight homers in 24 games. He’s setting the tone in the middle of the order while Matt Joyce has gotten on base at a .432 clip and Yonder Alonso has continued to hit.
Alonso’s power has subsided a bit, but he’s still hitting .293 with a .376 OBP in June. The power really came out of nowhere though his swing path has been different than years past. His swing is starting to level out a bit which could spell a few less homers, but his contact rate is still high.
Another strong hitter this month as been Khris Davis. The slugging outfielder is not one for a high average, but he’s batting .305 in the month despite 36 strikeouts in 95 at bats.
As for the Astros, George Springer’s bat is scorching hot again. He’s hit nine homers in his last 22 games while batting .311 with a 1.064 OPS. Jose Altuve is getting on base at a .408 clip in the same period of time and has four homers of his own.
In fact, seven Astros’ batters have hit at least four homers in June while Marwin Gonzalez, Carlos Correa, Springer and Altuve have all gotten base at a .360 clip or better.
On the pitching side, the rotation has been the downside for the Astros, but Chris Devenski continues to do his best in the Andrew Miller-type role, covering innings and keeping the team in the game.
Who's Not?
The entire Oakland pitching staff has been anything but good in June. They’re pitching to a 5.45 ERA, besting only the Orioles.
Zach Neal and Frankie Montas were both huge parts in the inflated numbers, neither are on the team right now. Liam Hendriks is and he’s been struggling some, too.
On the offensive side of things, the catching position has been a huge issue. Stephen Vogt is no longer on the team, but Josh Phegley is hitting .190 in June. Bruce Maxwell has swung the bat well in his first four games.
Houston has seen Tony Sipp and James Hoyt struggle in the month of June due to overwork in covering for the rotation. Despite that, others are picking up the slack and helping Houston maintain the best record in baseball.
Offensively, this team was getting production from every spot on the roster, but the Astros are still waiting on Alex Bregman to truly break out. He’s shown a good eye, but is batting just .244 in the team’s last 30-games.
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