AL West-leading Astros in town to begin their final home game – San Diego Union-Tribune

In the overall ranking

Houston Astros (81-68, 1st in AL West)

The Astros have won four straight games following a sweep of Anaheim and are 31-22 since the All-Star break, giving them a 4½-game lead over the Mariners in the division. Houston ranks seventh in run differential (plus-94), third in batting average (.262), second in opponents’ average (.228) and fourth in bullpen ERA (3.49). The Astros won two of three games against the Padres last year.

San Diego Padres (85-65, 3rd in NL West)

A weekend win in San Francisco has boosted the Padres’ playoff hopes. They enter the final two weeks as the NL’s top wild-card spot, 1½ games ahead of Arizona and somehow within 3½ games of the Dodgers in the NL West. More importantly, they have a 3½-game lead over the Mets and Braves to make the playoffs.

What have you been doing lately?

• Houston: The Astros have a batting average of .284/.340/.428 in their last six games. Both Jordan Alvarez (.790 OPS) and OF Jason Heyward (1,500 OPS) have scored two home runs in this section and Alvarez, Heyward and OF Mauricio Dubon (.718 OPS) have all four RBIs. OF Kyle Tucker has one home run, three RBIs and a .250/.367/.417 in eight games since returning from a broken tibia. RHP Bryan Abreu has had seven strikeouts over the past week while throwing 3⅔ perfect innings out of the bullpen.
• San Diego: RHP Robert Suárez has messed up the defense in two of his last three chances. Fernando Tatis Jr. has hit four home runs in his last five games (1.429 OPS) and scored eight runs in that time. INF Luis Arráez goes into the Houston series with a 13-game hitting streak and five Padres all have an OPS over .750 in the last week: Tatis, Arraez (1.085), INF Donovan Solano (.918), FROM Jurickson Profar (.899) and 3B Manny Machado (.761).

Clubhouse Manager

• OPS: Astros – DH Yordan Alvarez (.961), 2B Jose Altuve (.801), C Yainer Diaz (.776); Padres – FROM Jurickson Profar (.837), FROM Fernando Tatis Jr. (.835), FROM Jackson Merrill (.816).
• Homer: Astros – Alvarez (34), 3B Alex Bregman (23), OF Kyle Tucker (20); Padres – 3B Manny Machado (26), Merrill (23), Profar (22).
• RBIs: Astros – Alvarez (84), Diaz (71), SS Jeremy Pena (69); Padres – Machado (98), Merrill (85), Profar (82).
• Thefts: Astros – Altuve (21), Pena (17), Tucker (10), OF Jake Meyers (10); Padres – SS Ha-Seong Kim (22), Merrill (16), 2B Xander Bogaerts (11).
• Stores: Astros – LHP Josh Hader (31 of 33, 3.32 ERA), RHP Ryan Pressly (4 of 12, 3.54 ERA); Padres – RHP Robert Suarez (32 of 37, 2.59 ERA), LHP Tanner Scott (20 of 22, 1.50 ERA).
• Contains: Astros – RHP Bryan Abreu (36, 3.22 ERA), Pressly (21), RHP Rafael Montero (10, 4.70 ERA); Padres – RHP Jason Adam (26, 1.85 ERA), RHP Jeremiah Estrada (13, 3.02 ERA), LHP Wandy Peralta (11, 4.17 ERA).

Pitching duels

Monday

• Astros RHP Spencer Arrighetti (7-12, 4.72 ERA) | The 24-year-old rookie has 158 strikeouts in 131⅔ innings in his first year in the major leagues. He has a 2.14 ERA in his last four starts, although he did allow nine runs — three earned — in two-thirds of an inning at Cincinnati on Sept. 4. Arrighetti has a 5.22 ERA in 14 road starts this year.
• Padres RHP Yu Darvish (5-3, 3.52 ERA) | He is making his third start since returning from the suspended/injured list and has thrown 63 pitches in his last two games (5.87 ERA). Darvish has a 3.64 ERA in 15 career starts against the Astros, the last in 2021 (5 IP, 4 ER) with no decision.

Tuesday

• Astros RHP Hunter Brown (11-8, 3.59 ERA) | The third-year starter’s ERA is significantly lower than last year (5.09), and he has lowered his home run rate from 1.5 per nine innings last year to 1.0 this year. Brown has also pitched a career-high 158 innings and counting. The Padres batted Brown around for six runs in 4⅔ innings last year, including a home run by Xander Bogaerts.
• Padres RHP Michael King (12-9, 3.06 ERA) | With 161⅔-plus innings pitched, a career high, King has lowered his ERA from 3.41 in the first half to 2.31 in nine starts since the All-Star break. His starts with the Yankees last year included the five-inning, one-run victory over the Astros last September. King has a 2.61 ERA in 10⅓ career innings against the Astros.

Wednesday

• Astros LHP Framber Valdez (14-6, 2.91 ERA) | He has a 3.56 ERA in 12 road games this year, but a 1.33 ERA in seven games since early August. Valdez’s only games against the Padres were two games in 2021 (10 IP, 5 ER).
• Padres RHP Dylan Cease (13-11, 3.58 ERA) | He overcame a six-start slump (5.01 ERA) with 10 strikeouts in six scoreless innings to beat the Giants over the weekend, his first win since Aug. 17. Cease has a 4.18 ERA in six career starts against the Astros, but he limited them to one run in 12⅓ innings in two starts last year, during which he had 15 strikeouts and two walks.

Training room

• Houston: FROM Ben Gamel is from day to day with a bruised knee and 1B Jon Singleton was removed from Sunday’s lineup due to illness. Chas McCormick (broken hand) is aiming to return before the end of the regular season. The Astros have a number of pitchers who will not pitch this season, most notably RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (forearm surgery).
• San Diego: SS Ha-Seong Kim (Shoulder) there is no timetable yet, as he has not yet thrown at 100 percent performance across the field.