Oakland Athletics’ Vimael Machin, bottom, beats the the tag going into first base as Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (top) tries to sweep down the glove for the tag during the fifth inning at the Oakland Coliseum on Wed Jul 6, 2022 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

OAKLAND–The Oakland A’s (28-56) are hosting the Houston Astros for three games starting Friday night at the Oakland Coliseum. The teams last met for three games over the Memorial Day weekend here in Oakland. The Astros swept the A’s. The teams have 16 games left to play before the end of the season.

Let’s look at how each team is doing. The Astros are 53-28. They have the second-best record in all of baseball. The Astros are in first place in the American League Western Division. They lead the second-place Seattle Mariners by 13 games. On the other hand, the A’s have a woeful record of 28-56 and are in last place in the division 26.5 games behind Houston.

Managed by Dusty Baker, Houston arrives in town with a potent offense and a strong starting rotation. Their rotation features future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander. The big righty has recovered from Tommy John surgery and has pitched extremely well this year.

His record of 10-3 and an ERA of 2.03 indicates that he will be a candidate for another Cy Young award. It is quite remarkable since Verlander is now 39 years old. Other stalwarts in the rotation are lefty Framber Valdez (8-3. 2.67 ERA), Jose Urquidy (7-3. 4.15 ERA), Luis Garcia, Christian Javier, and Jake Odorizzi. Urquidy, Valdez, and Odorizzi will pitch against the A’s this weekend.

The Astros also have a potent offense. They have five players in the lineup with ten or more home runs this year. Their biggest bopper is DH Yordan Alvarez. Alvarez is hitting a robust .313 with 25 home runs and 59 ribbies.

The Astros have an outstanding infield. Yuli Guriel will be at first base. Perennial All-Star Jose Altuve handles the second base chores, Alex Bregman holds down third base, and Jeremy Pena will be at short. Carlos Correa left Houston for Minnesota. Pena has played so well that fans in Houston are not lamenting Correa’s defection.

Houston’s hit master, Michael Brantley, is on the 10-day IL and will not play this weekend. Michael Tucker will be in right-field. Tucker has great power and has given the A’s pitching fits. Tucker is hitting. 262 with 16 homers and 57 RBIs. The Astros will use Mauricio Dubon, Chas McCormick, and Jake Meyers in the other two outfield positions.

The A’s offense has been anemic all season. The A’s have scored 266 runs for the first 84 games of the 2022 season. They have allowed 377 for a run differential of minus 111. The A’s team batting average is the worst in all of baseball.

In the game against Toronto on Wednesday, the A’s have seven hitters in the lineup, hitting below .230. Three of the seven’s average was below the Mendoza line. The A’s managed four hits in the loss to Toronto.

A’s manager Mark Kotsay has to find a way to get his players to overcome adversity and play confidently. When things are going wrong, players wonder what will go wrong today. They believe they can find ways to win when things are going well. The A’s found a way to take two out of three from a very good Toronto team. Let’s hope the A’s can do it again against the Astros.

Jerry Feitelberg is an Oakland A’s beat reporter for http://www.sportsradioservice.com