A's Manaea looks to stay sharp against Astros

HOUSTON -- The no-hit performance delivered by Oakland left-hander Sean Manaea last Saturday certainly represented the high point of the Athletics' recent string of wins, but Manaea wasn't alone in providing Oakland the quality pitching at the heart of that success.

Even in defeat on Wednesday, Oakland received a pitching performance worthy of better results, with right-hander Kendall Graveman working six solid innings in a 4-2 loss that snapped the team's four-game winning streak. Still, Oakland (13-12) has won eight of 10 games to climb above .500 in advance of a three-game series starting Friday against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.

Sandwiched between Manaea and Graveman, Daniel Mengden, Trevor Cahill, and Andrew Triggs combined to work 17 1/3 innings while allowing five earned runs on 14 hits and three walks with 17 strikeouts. In the appearance prior to his no-hitter against the Boston Red Sox, Manaea allowed two hits and one run over seven innings in a 2-1 win over the Mariners on April 15. Mengden followed with eight innings of one-run ball in an 8-1 win over the White Sox.

Cahill clinched the series victory over Chicago with seven scoreless innings on April 17, surrendering five hits and two walks with eight strikeouts. As Oakland manager Bob Melvin noted, there is "no coincidence" behind the Athletics' strong starting pitching and their success.

Manaea (3-2, 1.23 ERA), coming off his first nine-inning complete game and the seventh no-hitter in Oakland history, will open the series against the Astros. He matched his career high of 10 strikeouts while recording the 12th no-hitter in franchise annals, the first since left-hander Dallas Braden tossed a perfect game against the Rays on May 9, 2010. Manaea has allowed one run or fewer in four of his five starts and has worked at least seven innings on four occasions.

Manaea is 1/3 with a 2.45 ERA over eight career starts against the Astros, against whom he made his big-league debut on April 29, 2016, in a 7-4 loss at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

Left-hander Dallas Keuchel (1-3, 3.10 ERA) will oppose Manaea and the Athletics. He earned his first win of the season in his previous appearance, allowing one run on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts over six innings in a 10-1 victory over the White Sox on Saturday.

Keuchel is 5-4 with a 2.59 ERA over 18 career appearances (16 starts) against the Athletics.

The Astros (17-9) salvaged the finale of their series with the Angels on Wednesday with a 5-2 victory behind another strong start from right-hander Justin Verlander, who carried a shutout into the seventh inning, and the first home run of the season from second baseman Jose Altuve. However, perhaps the most significant development was the perfect ninth tossed by closer Ken Giles.

Giles recorded his second save and his sixth consecutive appearance without allowing a baserunner, needing only seven pitches to tear through the heart of the Angels order. Giles opened the season struggling with the quality of his slider, an issue that is being rectified.

"It's progressing. It's getting there," Giles said. "Slowly but surely it's getting more comfortable out of the hand nowadays, and I'm getting really confident about it."