Oakland @ Houston preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 9, 2018 ) Oakland 2, Houston 0

After ending one streak in the opener, the Oakland Athletics attempt to extend another when they visit the Houston Astros on Tuesday for the second contest of their four-game series. Oakland topped Houston 2-0 in a pitchers' duel on Monday for its third straight overall win and first in its last nine meetings with the Astros.

Stephen Piscotty recorded half of the Athletics' six hits and drove in both runs - belting a solo homer in the seventh to snap a scoreless tie and adding an RBI single an inning later to help make a winner of Frankie Montas, who scattered three hits over six innings. Piscotty enters Tuesday having registered a home run and two RBIs in three consecutive contests. Houston managed only five singles as it had its six-game winning streak halted and fell to 4-1 on its 11-game homestand. George Springer has hit safely in four of the first five contests on the lengthy stretch at Minute Maid Park after notching a pair of hits on Monday.

TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, NBCS California (Oakland), AT&T SportsNet-Southwest (Houston)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Athletics LH Sean Manaea (8-6, 3.33 ERA) vs. Astros RH Justin Verlander (9-4, 2.15)

After enduring a rough month of May in which he went 1-4 while yielding at least four runs in each of his six outings, Manaea has put together a six-start unbeaten streak. The 26-year-old native of Indiana has gone 3-0 during the stretch, allowing fewer than three runs five times and exactly three in the other turn. Manaea, who settled for a no-decision against San Diego on Wednesday after giving up two runs in seven innings, is 2-4 with a 2.54 ERA in 10 career starts versus Houston - including a 1-1 mark and 2.84 ERA in two outings this season.

Verlander is looking to halt a winless streak that reached four starts when he settled for a no-decision against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday after yielding two runs and four hits while registering 10 strikeouts in seven innings. The 35-year-old Virginian has not been victorious since June 14, when he extended his winning streak to five games by allowing three runs over seven frames in Oakland. With that triumph, Verlander improved to 11-6 with one complete game and a 2.68 ERA in 18 career starts versus the Athletics.

WALK-OFFS

1. Astros 2B Jose Altuve has gone 9-for-24 during his six-game hitting streak.

2. Oakland OF Dustin Fowler struck out in all five of his at-bats in the series opener and has fanned 11 times in 24 at-bats this month.

3. Houston SS Carlos Correa (back) is unlikely to return from the disabled list until after the All-Star break.

PREDICTION: Astros 6, Athletics 1