Today at 3:35 p.m. ET, the Houston Astros (42-59) and Oakland Athletics (62-38) take the field at the O.co Coliseum for the rubber match of their three-game series live from Oakland. The game can be live streamed for free here. Houston fans can hear all of the action on KBME 790 while Oakland fans can do the same on 97.5 The Game.
Houston closes out a six-game road trip it is 2-3 on thus far while Oakland finishes up a six-game homestand it is 3-2 on. The Astros took the opener of this series 3-2 on Tuesday while the Athletics took a 9-7 victory on Wednesday.
Oakland enters play as the best team in baseball atop the American League West while Houston is in fourth place in the AL West, 20.5 games behind the Athetics.
Scott Feldman (4-7, 4.30 ERA) toes the rubber for the Astros while the Athletics counter with Jeff Samardzija, who is 3-8 with a 2.91 this season and 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA since being traded over from the Chicago Cubs.
Samardzija makes his fourth start for the Athletics and he admitted his July 4 trade from the Cubs gave him motivation to prove himself.
"Anytime you get traded it puts a chip on your shoulder when you're not wanted in a certain aspect, for whatever reason it is," Samardzija told the Chicago Sun-Times. "It definitely puts you in a spot where you want to prove something."
For the Astros to beat Samardzija and win the series, they'll have to do so without outfielder George Springer, who is a big hit and another injury for Houston. Springer, who was hitting .231 and leads the team with 20 homers and 51 RBI, was placed on the disabled list Wednesday with a left quad strain.
"We've pretty much lost our starting outfield," Astros manager Bo Porter said per MLB.com. "It's definitely next man up, an opportunity for some other guys to get some at-bats and see how they can do."
Houston's lineup has been anchored by second baseman Jose Altuve, who ranks first in the AL in batting average (.337), hits (139) and stolen bases (41) while he also ranks second with 30 doubles.
Oakland has a league leader of its own as Josh Donaldson, who is hitting .242 with 21 homers and a team-best 71 RBI, ranks tied for fourth in the AL with 66 runs scored.
Two AL West rivals finish up their series when the Astros and Athletics take the field at the O.co Coliseum this afternoon in Oakland.
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