German_Force » Houston officially celebrated in the locker

A look at what’s happening around the majors today:ACUNA AGAIN!Atlanta rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. has homered five games in a row — at 20 Prince Fielder Jersey , he’s the youngest major leaguer to do that. He’s also hit leadoff home runs in three straight, connecting the last two days on the first pitch Miami threw.Acuna later added his 19th homer with a three-run drive in the seventh inning Tuesday night.Brady Anderson was last player with so much leadoff success, homering four straight times to start games for Baltimore in 1996.Acuna has matched the Atlanta record for consecutive games with a home run set by Brian McCann in 2006. Acuna will try to keep the streaks going when the Braves face Jose Urena and the Marlins at SunTrust Park.SKIDDINGMinus MVP Jose Altuve, the AL West-leading Astros are struggling. They’ve matched a season high with five straight losses, have dropped nine in a row at home, and their lead in the AL West is down to just a game over surging Oakland. Houston will try to reverse the slides when Gerrit Cole (10-5, 2.75 ERA) starts vs. Colorado lefty Tyler Anderson (6-4, 3.94) at Minute Maid Park.THAT HURTSMariners ace James Paxton will see how he’s feeling, a day after he was hit in the left forearm by Jed Lowrie’s line drive. The big lefty was forced to leave in the first inning at Oakland and diagnosed with a bruise. Paxton is 10-5 http://www.rangersfanproshop.com/authentic-adrian-beltre-jersey , including a no-hitter vs. Toronto, and a 3.68 ERA for the playoff contenders.GETTING CLOSEThe Cubs will check on Yu Darvish and if he’s OK, the right-hander could go on a minor league rehab assignment. Darvish threw about 55 pitches in a simulated game Tuesday.Sidelined because of triceps and elbow injuries, Darvish has not pitched since he won at Cincinnati on May 20. He is 1-3 with a 4.95 ERA in eight starts after signing a $126 million, six-year deal with Chicago in February.MAYBESecond baseman Ian Kinsler could return from a strained left hamstring when the Red Sox play at Philadelphia. The 36-year-old was sent from the Angels to Boston late last month before the trade deadline. In three games for his new team, the four-time All-Star went 4 for 10, scored three runs, stole two bases and made a couple of sharp plays in the field.SHORT STARTSChris Archer starts for the third time since being traded from Tampa Bay to Pittsburgh. The two-time All-Star hasn’t gone more than five innings so far for the Pirates, and will try to add a little length when he pitches at Minnesota.STREAKINGMets right-hander Zack Wheeler (7-6 Nolan Ryan Jersey , 3.82 ERA) tries to win his sixth straight start when he pitches at Camden Yards. He held the Orioles scoreless over seven innings June 6, but did not get a decision. BALTIMORE — The defending World Series champion Houston Astros close the 2018 regular season with their only trip to Baltimore this weekend, and the first game of their four-game series with the Orioles now will be played Friday at 7:05 p.m. ET at Camden Yards. Rain washed out Thursday’s scheduled series opener, and it will be made up as part of a Saturday doubleheader. That will be a straight twinbill, which starts at 4:05 p.m. ET with the second game starting about 30 minutes after the first contest ends. There was not much chance of getting a game in Thursday as it rained all day, with the postponement coming about 30 minutes before the scheduled start.The starters will remain the same Friday. Gerrit Cole (15-5, 2.92 ERA) goes for Houston while David Hess (3-10, 5.14) starts for the Orioles.Article continues below ...Astros manager AJ Hinch said there were several reasons for doing the doubleheader Saturday especially since there’s a chance of rain again Friday.“Obviously, you want to do your best to play and keep the integrity of the schedule http://www.rangersfanproshop.com/authentic-rougned-odor-jersey , but the worst outcome would have been to play a partial night or play in miserable conditions with the threat of injury,” Hinch told reporters. “I think it worked out for both teams. Those guys are coming off 18 innings … and we certainly don’t want to play on a wet field.”Houston already has clinched the American League West and will play the Indians in the Division Series. That starts on Oct. 5.Cole has given an already-strong Astros’ starting staff even more punch this season. He has won five decisions in a row and last lost on Aug. 10. This will be the first time Cole has pitched against the Orioles in his career.Hess has been up and down during his rookie season. The right-hander has gone 1-5 in the past two months but pitched effectively on several occasions.This will be the first time he’s ever gone against the Astros.Houston (100-58) is coming off a 3-1 loss to the Blue Jays Wednesday in a game that really meant nothing. The Astros actually clinched the division title very early Wednesday morning when Oakland lost to Seattle.However, Houston officially celebrated in the locker room after the loss in Toronto, and now will prepare for this four-game series in Baltimore that really holds little meaning.Baltimore is starting the final series of a historically poor season. To make matters worse, the Orioles have run out of pitchers at times, especially in the starting rotation, which is a big reason they went with a committee approach in Wednesday’s day-night doubleheader in Boston.The Orioles are coming into this series after splitting that doubleheader. Boston crushed the Orioles 19-3 in the first game — the biggest margin of defeat for the Orioles (46-112) in this forgetful season. However, Baltimore bounced back and pulled out a 10-3 victory in the nightcap, thanks to seven runs in the final three innings.The biggest Orioles question might be whether manager Buck Showalter will return next year Cole Hamels Jersey , but the skipper brushed that off when the media talked with him about it Thursday.“Whatever stuff like that, we all have some private thoughts and emotions about that, but I don’t think it serves the organization well for me to be worried about that right now,” Showalter told the media. “We’ve got some things to do these last four games.”