Astros can't afford defeat against Kyle Hendricks, Angels

The Houston Astros open a three-game series with the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif., on Friday night still alive in the American League postseason race but needing some help to avoid missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Houston (85-74) trails the Detroit Tigers (86-73) by one game for the final AL wild-card spot and is two games behind the Boston Red Sox (87-72) for the second wild card.

The Tigers, who are tied with Cleveland (86-73) for first place in the AL Central, finish up with a series in Boston. The Guardians, who hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with Detroit, host the Texas Rangers this weekend.

The bad news for Houston is that Detroit, Cleveland and Boston all hold the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Astros thanks to winning the regular-season series by identical 4-2 margins.

Still, the Astros remained optimistic after snapping a five-game losing streak with an 11-5 victory over the Athletics on Thursday afternoon in West Sacramento, Calif.

"That's exactly what we needed," Houston manager Joe Espada said. "We need that going forward here. We've got three big games in Anaheim, and hopefully that momentum carries over."

Added Astros first baseman Christian Walker, who went 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs, "Every one of these games matters. That's no secret. We've got to win them all, but I think even more importantly hopefully get some momentum going for another important three games in (Anaheim)."

Houston is 6-4 against Los Angeles (71-88), which clinched last place in the AL West with a 9-4 loss to visiting Kansas City on Thursday night. Angels players have made no secret that they wouldn't mind playing the role of spoilers against the Astros.

Another motivation for the Angels, who have dropped 11 of their past 13 games, is that their Friday starter, Kyle Hendricks (8-10, 4.79 ERA), could be making the final start of his 12-year major league career.

The 35-year-old right-hander helped pitch the Chicago Cubs to the 2016 World Series title and also won the major league ERA crown that season. He denied several media reports this week that he had decided to hang up his spikes after this season.

"It takes a lot of hard work," Hendricks told the Orange County Register after yielding just three hits and striking out five over seven shutout innings in a 3-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday. "How my game plays at this level takes everything out of me, so I really focus on the day in and day out. That's where I try and keep myself.

"I've still got one more (start) in the season. I'll try and finish out as strong as I can. At the end of the season, I'll always sit down and just see how I feel, talk to the family, see where everybody's at."

Hendricks is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in three starts vs. the Astros this year, leaving him with a career 1-1 mark and a 3.91 ERA in four starts against Houston.

Jason Alexander (4-2, 4.83 ERA) will start the series opener for Astros. The 32-year-old right-hander went 3-0 with a 2.17 ERA in five August starts but is 0-1 with a 5.50 ERA in four starts since. He got roughed up by the Seattle Mariners on Sunday, when he yielded seven runs on seven hits in 1 1/3 innings.

He will be opposing the Angels for the first time in his career.

--Field Level Media