by Jerry Feitelberg

AP photo: Oakland A’s pitcher Ryan Madson throwing against the Minnesota Twins in the ninth inning on Wednesday at the Oakland Coliseum

HOUSTON–The A’s embark on an eight-game, ten-day road trip beginning Friday night in Houston. The A’s and the Astros will be battling it remain in third place in the AL West. The A’s, Astros and Angels are all under .500 and want to avoid being in the basement. The A’s have won five straight after a terrific performance by Sean Manaea on Wednesday afternoon against the Minnesota Twins in Oakland. The Astros were also on a five-game winning streak but lost to the Arizona D-Backs Thursday afternoon 3-0 to fall 1/2 game back of the A’s. The A’s are 25-29, and the Astros own a record of 25-30.

The A’s pitchers for the series will be Jesse Hahn, Rich Hill, and Kendall Graveman. Hahn pitched well his last time out and won his second game of the year. Lefty Rich Hill, the ace of the staff right now, is 8-3 and will be able to pitch on Saturday. Hill suffered a mild groin strain in his last start, but he has recovered. Kendall Graveman also won his last game and pitched well. He has a record of 2-6 and hopes to continue his progress.

The Astros did not start the season well. In April, their record was 7-17. They turned it around in May as they went 17-12. They are 1-1 in June. The turnaround occurred when manager A.J.Hinch moved right-fielder George Springer into the leadoff spot and moved All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve into the number two spot in the lineup. The Astros starting rotation feature the reigning Cy Young award winner, Dallas Keuchel, Doug Fister, Lance McCullers, Mike Fiers and Collin McHugh. Keuchel’s record is 3-6, and he has an ERA of 5.58. Keuchel hopes to turn things around, but the A’s will not have to face him this weekend. Doug Fister (4-3,3.86) will pitch Friday night. Fister beat the A’s on May first when the Astros visited Oakland. Lance McCullers (2-1,4.79) and Collin McHugh (5-5,4.82) will go for Houston on Saturday and Sunday.

The Astros have a good bullpen. Tony Sipp, Will Harris, Michael Feliz, Scott Feldman, Ken Giles and Pat Neshek do most of the relief work. Giles, obtained in a trade with the Phillies, has been a disappointment so far. Giles has appeared in 26 games and has a record of 0-2 and an ERA of 6.04. Their closer is former Athletic, Luke Gregerson. Gregerson has recorded thirteen saves but has also blown four.

The Astros have an explosive offense. They are led by shortstop Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, George Springer, catcher Evan Gattis, Marwin Gonzalez and Colby Rasmus. Springer is hitting .290 and has thirteen homers, and thirty-four RBIs to his Credit Altuve is hitting .330 with nine dingers and 31 RBIs. Altuve most certainly will be an All-Star again this year.

The A’s, as mentioned earlier, have won five in a row. The starting rotation has been much better lately. The A’s need Graveman, Hahn, Manaea to continue to pitch at least six innings. Hill has been a standout and is the only A’s pitcher to pitch into the eighth inning. Sonny Gray and Henderson Alvarez are still on the DL, but both should be back soon.The A’s used Eric Surkamp as a starter against Minnesota Tuesday night, but he went just four and 2/3rds innings and may make another start before a return trip to Nashville.

It should be pretty evenly matched series. The A’s and the Astros are getting better pitching from the starting rotations. The bullpens are good for both teams, and the hitters on both squads are getting timely hits.

Game one will be at Minute Maid Park Friday night at 5:05 PM.