The Athletics will send right-hander Paul Blackburn to the mound in an attempt to slow down Kyle Tucker in the continuation of a four-game series on Saturday night in Oakland.
Tucker has been a one-man wrecking crew in the first two games of the set, collecting a double, three home runs and six RBIs as the Astros have put up 3-1 and 6-4 victories.
The only other Astros player to record an RBI in the series has been Alex Bregman, who contributed a solo homer to Thursday’s win and a two-run shot to Friday’s triumph.
Batting in the middle of a lineup that’s missing Jose Altuve, Michael Brantley and Yordan Alvarez, the left-handed-hitting Tucker teed off on A’s starting lefties Hogan Harris and JP Sears in the two wins.
Tucker had a two-run, go-ahead double against Harris in Thursday’s win before taking Sears deep in his first and third at-bats Friday, belting a solo shot and then a two-run homer.
The team’s new No. 3 hitter is one of baseball’s best left-handed hitters against lefty pitching, having gone 42-for-117 (.359) with 10 doubles and six homers this season.
Count Brantley, only an observer these days because of shoulder surgery, among Tucker’s biggest admirers.
“He’s done a phenomenal job making adjustments, putting in consistent hard work every day and becoming the player he was hyped up to be,” Brantley said. “Just seeing the quality of work from the inside that he does every day to get ready to perform at a very high level.”
The A’s might have just the man to slow Tucker, who never has gotten a hit in six career at-bats against Blackburn (1-2, 5.48 ERA), striking out twice.
That said, Blackburn has been roughed up in his past two starts, serving up 11 runs in 10 2/3 innings to the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox.
Despite his success against Tucker, the 28-year-old has never beaten the Astros in six previous meetings, including five as a starter, during which he’s allowed 30 earned runs and 38 hits in 24 innings, an ERA of 11.25.
He did not face Houston in either series when the clubs met a total of six times in May.
Shooting for a fourth straight win overall and a ninth in a row against the A’s, the Astros will call upon a right-hander of their own, Cristian Javier (7-1, 4.39).
Javier is unbeaten in his past 12 starts. The Astros have won 10 of those 12 games.
One of Javier’s wins this season came in a home game against the A’s on May 28, in which he allowed just one run and four hits in five innings of a 10-1 triumph. He is just 3-3 with a 4.50 ERA in 12 head-to-heads, including nine starts.
He got the better of Oakland’s Tony Kemp, who went 0-for-2, in the May head-to-head. But before that, Kemp owned the matchup with seven hits in 14 at-bats, including four doubles.
The Oakland leadoff man has hit safely in 13 of his last 16 games, raising his average by 34 points. He had two hits and scored twice in Friday’s loss, earning mention from A’s manager Mark Kotsay afterward.
“He’s slowly gotten himself back to where he wants to be,” Kotsay said. “We’ve seen great plays; we’ve seen great at-bats. It’s nice to have him back.”