Banged-up Astros host Athletics
In the past two games, the Houston Astros' depth was tested because of injuries to second baseman Jose Altuve and center fielder George Springer.
Without Altuve and Springer, the Astros sustained consecutive one-run losses to the Cleveland Indians.
Altuve and Springer may not be in the starting lineup again Friday night when Houston plays host to the Oakland Athletics in the opener of a three-game series.
Altuve did not start the last two games in Cleveland, and the Astros were handed 7-6 and 4-3 losses. He injured his left shoulder in a scary collision with right fielder Teoscar Hernandez on Tuesday. Hernandez ended up on the disabled list due to a bruised left leg he sustained on the play.
Springer has not started the past four games because of left hamstring tightness. He was injured running to first base Saturday in Tampa Bay.
Altuve took batting practice in the cage Thursday. He also singled as a pinch hitter off Cleveland closer Cody Allen but was then thrown out trying to steal second.
"I feel really happy about how I feel today," Altuve said.
Springer took one at-bat in the Indians series and is itching to resume a season in which he has seven home runs and 13 RBIs despite a .213 average.
"I'm getting better," Springer said. "I'm hoping to play soon. I want to play. I don't like to sit here and not help these guys."
If Altuve does not play, Marwin Gonzalez likely will start again at second base. If Springer sits, Josh Reddick will be the starting center fielder against his former team.
Regardless of who is in the lineup, the Astros will be looking to snap their second losing streak of the season. Houston dropped three straight April 6-8 and is 11-5 in its past 16 games.
"That was a great game and a great series," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said after the Thursday defeat. "We lost two of the three, but we're not going to hang our heads over it,"
Oakland is on its second four-game losing streak of the season after a 2-1 road loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday. Before the past four games, the A's scored 29 times during a five-game winning streak. During the current skid, Oakland has scored eight total runs and is hitting .179 with 43 strikeouts.
"We're a little streaky right now," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said of the offense, which mustered three hits Thursday. "We'll go through some streaks where it seems like we do a lot of things right, and other times when we bog down offensively, it puts pressure on the pitching staff."
Charlie Morton makes his fifth start as an Astro and faces the A's for the first time in his career. He was originally slated to oppose them in Oakland on April 16, but the game was rained out.
He is 1-2 with a 4.29 ERA after allowing season highs of five runs and eight hits in five innings during a 6-3 loss Saturday. Morton is throwing a sinker that averages 95.8 mph, but his ground-ball rate is 49.3 percent, down from 57.3 percent when he made 23 starts for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2015.
The Athletics' Friday starter, Jharel Cotton, is 2-2 with a 4.76 ERA. He was one of the players Oakland acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Reddick at the 2016 non-waiver trade deadline.
Cotton leads American League rookies with 22 2/3 innings pitched, and he recorded the win Saturday when he allowed two runs and six hits in six innings during a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners.
"I think I was battling the entire game," said Cotton, who allowed his first home run of the season to Robinson Cano on Saturday. "I was talking to myself on the mound, saying, 'Attack, attack, no matter what happens.'"
Cotton's lone appearance against the Astros was a no-decision in Oakland on Sept. 19. In a 4-2 loss, he allowed one run and two hits in six innings.
Cotton should be well-rested because the A's sent him to Houston on Thursday ahead of the night game at Anaheim.
"We'll take later buses to the ballpark (Friday) so we can try to maximize the amount of sleep well get," Melvin said. "We've hit all three nights here (in Anaheim), so based on the time we're getting there, the prudent thing to do is to try to get some sleep."
The Astros outscored the A's 17-8 in an abbreviated two-game series two weekends ago in Oakland. Houston has won 15 of the past 21 meetings, including eight of the past 10 at home.