ASTROS @ A’S
June 19-22, 2017
While driving in Austin this morning I saw a father and son playing catch in their front yard a couple of blocks from the office. Greg Gibson called them strikes from his Houston hotel room.
What happened in the last series?
With the exception of Saturday’s game, the Astros (46-24) forgot how to hit with runners in scoring position. Between Friday’s and Sunday’s games they combined for a shitty 4×19 with 19 left on base.
Meanwhile, the AL-worst A’s (31-38) just swept the Yankees in four games. What in the double fuck?
Schedule/Probables
Monday, June 19 – 9:05pm CDT
Brad Peacock (3-1, 3.00) vs. Daniel Gossett (0-1, 16.20)
Peacock rebounded from getting blown up by the Angels and allowed one earned run while striking out ten Rangers in 4.2 innings. He has made two relief appearances against the A’s this year, allowing a total of six baserunners.
Injuries to Kendall Graveman and Andrew Triggs necessitated Gossett making his major league debut against the Marlins last week. As you can see by his numbers, it didn’t go so well: six earned runs (seven total) in just 3.1 innings of work. Gossett rocketed through three levels of the A’s farm system last season and had a 3.41 ERA and 1.187 WHIP in AAA this year before the callup. He has average command of four pitches and relies on soft contact.
Tuesday, June 20 – 9:05pm CDT
Francis Martes (1-0, 5.19) vs. Sonny Gray (2-2, 4.44)
Martes picked up his first big league win, battling through five innings against the Rangers in a game that the Astros eventually made uninteresting.
A potential trade target for the Astros, Gray was on the DL during April which was the last time the Astros and A’s played. He’s had his ups (7 IP, 1 ER, 11 K’s vs. the Fish) and downs (4.2 IP, 7 ER vs. the Tribe) and hasn’t notched a W since May 24. Since 2015 he’s 3-1 with a 2.87 ERA against Houston.
Wednesday, June 21 – 9:05pm CDT
Mike Fiers (4-2, 4.00) vs. Sean Manaea (6-3, 4.01)
About a month ago, saying that Fiers would be your best pitcher in June would’ve caused many here to start looking for cliffs to jump off of. Fiers has lived up to that label, though, going 3-0 with a 1.78 ERA in his last four starts. He has not faced the A’s this year, and last year he was 0-1 with a 5.27 ERA in three starts against Oakland.
The Astros have already seen Manaea once this year, when he no-hit them through five innings but walked the bases loaded and got burned by some defensive dick-stepping. That game was one of the early patented Houston comebacks, with the Astros winning 10-6 after being down 5-0. The A’s have not lost a Manaea start since May 15, a stretch of six starts where he’s gone 5-0 with four quality starts.
Thursday, June 22 – 2:35pm CDT
David Paulino (1-0, 5.03) vs. Jesse Hahn (3-4, 3.56)
It took him a few games but Paulino finally earned his first MLB win against the Red Sox. He has never faced the A’s.
Hahn has been the A’s best starter this season despite already having a DL stint to nurse a bum shoulder. Since coming off the DL a couple weeks ago he’s only made it past the 5th inning once. The Astros beat him in April with eight hits and four total runs off him in six innings.