Astros at Brewers
Gerrit Cole will have some sizable shoes to fill as he attempts to follow in the footsteps of fellow ace Justin Verlander, who recorded his third career no-hitter in the Houston Astros' last outing. Cole and the Astros aim to ride that momentum into Monday's opener of an abbreviated two-game interleague series against the host Milwaukee Brewers.
Rookie Abraham Toro provided the offensive spark by going deep for the second time in three contests with a two-run homer in the ninth inning of Sunday's 2-0 win over Toronto. Jose Altuve and Yuli Gurriel are each carrying nine-game hitting streaks into the series, with the former scoring eight times during that stretch while the latter has nine RBIs in his run. While Houston has won eight of 10 to strengthen its position atop the American League West, Milwaukee has moved within three games of Chicago for the second wild card in the National League after registering back-to-back shutouts. Ben Gamel has flourished since being recalled from Triple-A San Antonio, following up his three-hit performance in Saturday's 2-0 win over the Cubs with a pair of singles and a run scored in Sunday's 4-0 victory.
TV: 4:10 p.m. ET, ESPN, AT&T SportsNet-Southwest (Houston), FS Wisconsin (Brewers)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros RH Gerrit Cole (15-5, 2.85 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Adrian Houser (6-5, 3.52)
Cole was unable to extend his career-best six-start winning streak on Wednesday despite striking out a season-high 14 batters in 6 2/3 innings of a no-decision against Tampa Bay. The 28-year-old has plenty of experience versus Milwaukee dating back to his time with National League Central-rival Pittsburgh, although he has a 3-4 mark with a 3.55 ERA in 12 career starts to show for it. Christian Yelich is 9-for-17 with five extra-base hits (three homers, two doubles) in his career against Cole, who has flustered both Ryan Braun (1-for-13) and Hernan Perez (1-for-11).
Houser permitted one earned run in his fourth straight start against St. Louis on Tuesday but settled for his second no-decision in that stretch. The 26-year-old exited the contest with hip discomfort, with the right-hander admitting that it "had a little effect on some control issues." Houser will bid to keep the high-octane Astros in check at Miller Park, where he sports a 2-2 mark with a 2.83 ERA while limiting the opposition to just a .208 batting average.
WALK-OFFS
1. Yelich, who belted a three-run shot on Sunday, went 5-for-11 with one homer in the two-game series split against Houston on June 11-12.
2. Astros 3B Alex Bregman has 17 hits and 11 runs scored in his last 10 contests.
3. Brewers 3B Mike Moustakas, who is nursing a sore wrist, launched a homer in the 14th inning of a 6-3 win against Houston on June 12.