A's Looking to End Houston Astros Season

For Houston, they'll have three games in West Sacramento, followed by three more in Anaheim against the Angels to close out the regular season. The A's are already 6-4 against Houston this year, including a four-game sweep on the road back in July, the last time these two teams faced off.

That series is more commonly known as the one where A's rookie first baseman Nick Kurtz became one of the most feared hitters in baseball following his four homer game.

Two of Houston's wins against the club came at the end of May, when the A's were still in the middle of their inexplicable 1-20 run. They met again in the middle of June and split a four-game series. The Astros have dealt with a plethora of injuries this season, and the only time they played when the A's were performing like they are now, the A's swept the series.

As of right now, the only pitching matchup that has been announced is Cristian Javier (2-3, 4.45) taking on Jeffrey Springs (10-11, 4.17) on Tuesday night. Given that Houston's backs are against the wall, they'll have to use their best pitchers in this series, and it would appear as though both Hunter Brown and Framber Valdez would be on regular rest for the Wednesday and Thursday contests.

This should be a highly entertaining series, with both teams having some incentive to take home a series win. For Houston, a couple of wins improves their chances of securing a postseason bid, while the A's sure wouldn't mind playing a key role in keeping them out of October baseball.

Houston has won the AL West nearly every year since 2017. The only exception was when the A's took the title in the shortened 2020 campaign, and the Astros ended up eliminating them from the postseason in the ALDS at Dodger Stadium.

A's Can Put Plenty of Pressure on Houston

The Astros have had more success this season against the Los Angeles Angels, holding a 6-4 record of their own. However, only three of those games have been played since the All Star break, and Houston went 1-2 at home against the Angels, scoring a total of three runs.

Because of the Detroit Tigers' collapse, the Athletics won't be able to fully eliminate Houston on their own, but they can certainly make things more difficult for them.

If Cleveland swept Detroit to begin the week while the A's swept Houston, that would leave the Tigers two games back of the Guardians with three to play, while Houston would be one back of Detroit. Both Cleveland and Detroit hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Houston, with the Astros going just 2-4 against each club.

That means that they can't afford to finish tied with either club, and that the A's can do some real damage to their postseason hopes in the coming three days.