Houston Astros (42-59) at Oakland Athletics (62-38), 2:35 p.m. (CST)
TV: CSN Houston, MLB.TV (FREE GAME OF THE DAY)
Radio: KBME 790 AM, KLAT 1010 AM
Athletics SBNation Blog: Athletics Nation
Pitching matchup
RHP Scott Feldman (4-7, 4.30 ERA, 1.37 WHIP) vs. RHP Jeff Samardzija (3-8, 2.91 ERA, 1.13 WHIP)
Preview
Well the Astros winning streak didn't last long against the A's, Brad Peacock made sure of that. Now the Astros face Oakland's newest toy - Jeff Samardzija. The former Cubs pitcher was traded with fellow starter Jason Hammel on July 5 for top prospect short stop Addison Russell, Dan Straily, Billy McKinney, and a player to be named later. Samrdzija had pitched well enough to be selected to the National League All-Star team this season, but as a result of the trade he was in the American League dugout.
Samardzija has three starts in green and gold under his belt - posting a 3.27 ERA in 22 innings pitched. In his last start, July 18, he gave up four earned runs on six hits over seven innings against Baltimore. That included home runs allowed to Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop and third baseman Manny Machado. He has a 3.65 ERA in his career against Houston in 18 appearances (3 starts, 37 total IP).
Jose Altuve is 1-for-11 in his career against Samardzija including two walks. Chris Carter has a good chance of continuing his success at the plate, he is 3-for-3 with two doubles against today's starter for the A's. Jason Castro is 4-for-9 with three doubles against Samardzija.
Scott Feldman is the starting counter part for today's game. Feldman hasn't been the slam dunk of a signing he was earlier this season, but he's a steady hand for the Astros rotation. In the month of July, Feldman has a 5.89 ERA over 18.1 innings pitched. In his last start, July 18 in Chicago, he held the White Sox to three runs over seven innings.
Looking at the previous stats of the Oakland hitters against Feldman, there are a large of player with two and three walks in less then 10 career at-bats. It isn't a direct correlation, but it reminds me of the Red Sox who worked Feldman for 116 pitches in just 5.1 innings pitched on July 11. The Sox put up seven runs on 11 hits and three walks over 5.1 innings pitched. Yoenis Cespedes (1-for-5) has three walks against Feldman in his career. Coco Crisp the Astro-killer is 4-for-9, and Jed Lowrie is 4-for-9 with two doubles against Feldman. John Jaso (2-4, 1 HR) and Brandon Moss (2-6) each have two walks against the Astros righty. Derek Norris is 2-fo-2 with a home run and walk in his career against Feldman.