Houston @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 19, 2014 ) Houston 7, NY Yankees 4

The Houston Astros vie for their second series victory over the New York Yankees this season when the teams meet in the Bronx on Wednesday. Houston took two of three from New York at home to begin the campaign before Chris Carter rebounded from striking out in each of his first four at-bats to belt the go-ahead three-run homer in the ninth inning of Tuesday's 7-4 triumph. The blast was the career-high 30th for the reigning American League Player of the Week, who has a major league-best 17 homers and 42 RBIs since July 1.

While the upstart Astros are learning to piece victories together, the Yankees have dropped six of eight to fall four games back in the race for the second wild card in the American League. Martin Prado had a two-run double to highlight a three-hit performance and is 6-for-11 with four RBIs and three runs scored in his last three games. Jacoby Ellsbury collected three hits in the series opener after being mired in a 1-for-20 slump.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, CSN Houston, YES (New York)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros RH Scott Feldman (6-9, 4.45 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Michael Pineda (2-2, 1.82)

Feldman saw his modest two-start winning streak come to a screeching halt after allowing seven runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings against Boston on Thursday. The 31-year-old Hawaiian had permitted just five runs over 22 1/3 frames in his previous three outings before the Red Sox got the better of him en route to a 9-4 decision. Feldman owns a 4-4 career mark versus the Yankees but settled for a no-decision despite scattering two hits over 6 2/3 scoreless innings on April 1.

After being sidelined with a strained muscle in his upper back, Pineda made a strong showing in his first start since being activated from the 60-day disabled list. The 25-year-old Dominican yielded one run on two hits in five innings en route to a no-decision versus Baltimore on Wednesday. Pineda tossed only 67 pitches in that outing but is expected to have a larger workload when he makes his first career appearance against Houston.

WALK-OFFS

1. New York 3B Chase Headley went 0-for-4 on Tuesday but has fared well versus Feldman in his career (4-for-7, home run).

2. Houston 2B Jose Altuve is 16-for-38 in his last nine contests and is three hits shy of his career-high total of 177, which was set last season.

3. Yankees DH Carlos Beltran went hitless in three at-bats in the opener and is mired in a 1-for-28 slump.

PREDICTION: Yankees 4, Astros 3