The Houston Astros open a four-game series against the Athletics on Thursday, Sept. 24, with Peter Lambert facing Mason Barnett. Houston and Texas are tied at 78-80 atop the AL West with four games remaining; Houston holds the tiebreaker after going 9-4 against Texas.
The game is scheduled for 8:40 p.m. CT at Sutter Health Park. Lambert entered with an 8-10 record and led Houston with 27 starts, 151 innings and 147 strikeouts. He had allowed two or fewer earned runs in 19 starts, including 11 of his last 14. Houston was 4-5 against the Athletics before this final series of the season.
The preview identifies Astros DH Yordan Alvarez as an AL MVP candidate, citing a league-leading 1.035 OPS, .603 slugging percentage and .432 on-base percentage. He is tied for the AL home-run lead with 41 and ranks second with 102 RBIs.
