'Back to the basics' as Astros pursue series win vs. Athletics

Back-to-back series losses to sub-.500 American League West foes left the Houston Astros searching for answers on Friday in advance of their three-game weekend series against the visiting Athletics.

The Astros produced a more palatable effort in their 4-0 victory and also showcased signs of aggression on offense in an attempt to snap out of their malaise.

Houston will chase a series victory on Saturday when it hosts the Athletics in the second contest of the three-game set.

With their division lead over the second-place Texas Rangers down to one game entering the weekend, the Astros wanted to address how they could return to the form that resulted in their surge to the top of the division.

"Identify some areas that we need to improve," manager Joe Espada said. "We're not trying to reinvent the wheel. We know who we are. We just need to get back to the basics and the fundamentals of how we score runs, how we create those runs.

"There are areas that we can take advantage of our opponents. Let's focus on those without forgetting our strengths, what we do and how we do it."

Right-hander Hunter Brown (3-3, 3.67 ERA) will start for the Astros on Saturday. He suffered his second straight loss last Sunday against the Seattle Mariners, allowing two runs on three hits and five walks with five strikeouts over five innings in a 3-2 defeat. Brown is winless in three starts this month, going 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA plus 17 strikeouts and 10 walks in 16 innings.

He is 4-3 with a 3.00 ERA in nine career starts against the Athletics. In his previous start against them on Sept. 24, 2025, Brown allowed four runs on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts over five innings in a 6-0 road loss.

Left-hander Jacob Lopez (5-4, 5.22 ERA) has the starting assignment for the Athletics on Saturday. He was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas on July 7 for his second stint with the club this season and is 1-1 with a 3.13 ERA in eight appearances (seven starts) since.

He has allowed two runs or less in each of his last seven starts and is 1-1 with a 2.36 ERA over that span. He did not factor into the decision of a 5-2 win over the Rangers last Sunday after allowing two runs on five hits and two walks with six strikeouts over six innings.

Lopez is 0-0 with a 2.45 ERA in three career starts against the Astros. He did not factor into the decision in a 12-10 road win over Houston on April 5 after allowing three runs on three hits and five walks with six strikeouts over 4 1/3 innings.

As expected, the Athletics placed shortstop Jacob Wilson (shoulder) on the 10-day injured list with the expectation that he will miss the remainder of the season. Additionally, the club transferred Nick Kurtz (right thumb) to the 60-day IL. Kurtz was eligible for reinstatement on Aug. 11.

Wilson joined Kurtz, Shea Langeliers (knee), Tyler Soderstrom (left hip) and Brent Rooker (left knee) as part of a staggering collection of 13 A's players currently on the IL. That group entered the season representing the Athletics' core.

"These are five we're talking about that were in our Opening Day lineup, one through five," Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. "That's a big impact."

--Field Level Media