SERIES PREVIEW
Astros @ Athletics
July 18-20, 2016
After taking the weekend series in Seattle, the Astros get six games against the AL West’s bottomfeeders before a 13-game stretch of games against teams .500-ish or better. First up are the A’s. Let’s get right to the matchups.
Monday, July 18 – 9:05pm CDT
Mike Fiers (6-3, 4.35) vs. Kendall Graveman (5-6, 4.37)
Fiers has had trouble consistently pitching deep into games, and his last first-half start was no exception. At just 3.1 innings against the Mariners it was his shortest start of the year. His only start against the A’s this year was a good one: seven innings of two-run ball in late April that would have netted him a W if not for an 8th/9th inning bullpen collapse.
Graveman closed his first half well, with a one-run outing in Milwaukee followed by his start in Houston where he threw eight scoreless innings and nearly gave the game away in the 9th. His other start against the Astros this year didn’t go as well, leaving the game in the 5th after giving up five runs on seven hits.
Tuesday, July 19 – 9:05pm CDT
Dallas Keuchel (6-9, 4.80) vs. TBD/Dillon Overton (1-1, 11.42)
There’s a lot to be encouraged about by Keuchel’s recent performance; he hasn’t taken a loss since June 12 and the team has won all five of his starts since then. His second-half tune-up against the A’s is coming on the heels of one of his best starts this year to end the first half, also against the A’s: seven innings, one run, four hits, and two walks.
Tuesday’s expected starter, Sean Manaea, was forced into five innings of emergency relief on Sunday after some freak circumstances. Rich Hill only lasted five pitches due to a blister and his replacement, Andrew Triggs, left after the 1st after getting hit with a batted ball. Both Manaea and Hill are stated as unavailable for this game and the A’s have not yet announced a starter at the time of this writing. I found some speculation that it might be Dillon Overton, a lefty with a 2.98 ERA at AAA this year and a double-digit ERA in two MLB starts. He’s on the wrong side of Tommy John surgery and only tops out in the upper 80s with his fastball, although his breaking pitches are effective.
Wednesday, July 20 – 2:35pm CDT
Doug Fister (9-6, 3.64) vs. Daniel Mengden (1-4, 5.54)
Fister only made it five innings against the Sea Hags last Friday but it was enough to get the win. He has already faced the A’s three times this year and has been outstanding against them, currently 2-1 with a 1.31 ERA.
Fun stat: Mengden’s ERA has doubled since June 27, and the Astros played a big part in that, tagging him for six runs in 4.2 innings in Houston’s wild 10-9 win earlier this month. His start last Friday was even worse, allowing six earnies in just 3.2 innings against the Blue Jays.
