Houston @ Arizona preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 4, 2015 ) Houston 3, Arizona 5

Michael Bourn enjoyed some of the finest years of his career with the Houston Astros, earning the first of two All-Star nods in 2010 thanks in part to his ability to steal bases and set the table near the top of the order. The Houston native is off to a red-hot start 10 games into his tenure with the Arizona Diamondbacks, and he'll try to help his new team pull off a third straight win Monday as the Astros visit for the opener of four-game, home-and-home interleague series.

Bourn, who batted .271 and stole 193 bases in three-plus years with Houston from 2008-11, joined the Diamondbacks on May 15 - five days after agreeing to a minor-league deal - after injuries to fellow outfielders A.J. Pollock and David Peralta robbed Arizona of two of its better hitters. The 33-year-old has handled himself well while positioned mostly second in the order between Jean Segura and Paul Goldschmidt, hitting .407 with six RBIs, four runs scored and three steals in 27 at-bats. Houston (22-29) has won five of six after falling a season-worst 11 games below .500 on May 22, but it could use a long outing from Collin McHugh in the opener after going through eight pitchers in a 13-inning road victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday. The Astros took two of three in their most recent trip to Arizona last October, including a 21-5 rout that set club records for the most runs in a game (Houston) and most allowed (Diamondbacks).
TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, ROOT (Houston), FSN Arizona

PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros RH Collin McHugh (4-4, 5.13 ERA) vs. Diamondbacks LH Edwin Escobar (2014: 0-0, 4.50)
McHugh struck out a season-high 10 on Wednesday in Baltimore but settled for a no-decision after allowing three runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. The 28-year-old Berry College product, who ranked second in the American League behind teammate Dallas Keuchel with 19 victories last season, is winless in his last three outings and 1-2 with a 6.38 ERA in four road turns this year. McHugh toyed with the Diamondbacks in two starts in 2015, allowing one run and fanning six over seven frames en route to a win each time.
Escobar is slated to make his first career start Monday after Arizona claimed him off waivers from Boston on April 29. The 24-year-old Venezuelan is expected to temporarily fill one of the two spots left open by injuries to Rubby De La Rosa and Shelby Miller but was only 2-1 with 4.68 ERA in five starts for Triple-A Reno. Escobar's first and only taste of big-league action was with the Red Sox in 2014, when he permitted a run over two innings in a pair of relief appearances.

WALK-OFFS
1. The next triple the Astros register will be the 2,000th in the club's 55-year history.
2. Goldschmidt is 14-for-46 with 12 walks and 13 RBIs over his last 13 games.
3. Houston is 2-9 against left-handed starting pitchers this season.

PREDICTION: Astros 6, Diamondbacks 5