Chavez leads Oakland into opener against 'Stros
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}(SportsNetwork.com) - Oakland's Jesse Chavez attempts to beat Houston for the second time in less than a week on Monday night when the Athletics visit the Astros to kick off a three-game series.
Chavez has won two of his past three starts, including a 9-7 victory over Houston on Wednesday. The righty allowed two runs on four hits and two walks over 5 2/3 innings, striking out seven.
Chavez kept control of the game after getting staked to a 5-0 lead after two innings as he did not allow a hit until the fifth inning. He improved to 8-6 with a 3.14 earned run average on the season, though the Astros nearly rallied off the Athletics' bullpen.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Whenever you give up a five-spot early in the game it makes it pretty difficult," Astros manager Bo Porter said. "Our guys did a tremendous job of mounting the comeback but we just came up short."
The 30-year-old Chavez remained unbeaten versus the Astros, going 2-0 with a 2.23 ERA in 18 games with three starts.
Houston's Brett Oberholtzer gets the start tonight having gone 0-1 with a 3.46 ERA in four starts. The lefty has only allowed four runs over his past two outings, but has yielded 17 hits and a pair of walks in the two no-decisions.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Oberholtzer did not factor into a 3-2 extra-inning victory over Oakland on Tuesday, charged with two runs over seven innings.
The 25-year-old is 2-7 with a 4.32 ERA in 13 games this season and 0-2 lifetime versus the A's with a 4.03 ERA in four starts.
Oakland won the final two contests of a three-game set with Texas over the weekend and is two games up on the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for first place in the AL West.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The A's have won seven of 10 and 14 of their last 20 overall, while the Astros come in on a five-game slide after getting swept in three games over the weekend by the Miami Marlins.
Jose Altuve continues to be a bright spot for Houston. He homered among three hits in Sunday's 4-2 loss, extending his hitting streak to nine straight games. He also leads the majors with 18 three-hit games.
The A's are 22-7 versus the Astros over the past two seasons.