Houston vs San Diego   Results, Match Player Stats & Records

After watching San Francisco Giants left-hander Robbie Ray shut them down in a 4-1 win on July 30, the San Diego Padres dealt for him a few hours before the Monday trade deadline to beef up a weak starting rotation.

Ray will pitch his first game for the Padres on Friday night when they open a six-game homestand with the first of three games against the Houston Astros.

Few pitchers have been as good lately as Ray (10-6, 3.08 ERA). He's 7-0 in his past 12 appearances and has allowed one or fewer earned runs in nine games during that span. The left-hander has completed at least six innings in six of his last eight games.

Making it more impressive was that Ray toiled for an underperforming team. San Francisco went 14-8 in his 22 appearances but is on pace to lose more than 90 games.

The thought occurred to Ray after he mowed down the Padres that he might be pitching for them sooner instead of later.

"Just looking at the situation over here, knowing they needed starting pitching, it definitely -- maybe not before the game but definitely after the game -- it felt like it was a possibility," Ray said.

In his first start for San Diego, Ray draws an opponent that's been rough on him. He's 3-3 in nine career starts against Houston but owns a 6.86 earned run average, allowing 11 homers in just 40 2/3 innings.

The Padres start the series a game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final National League wild-card spot. The two teams completed a four-game series on Thursday, when San Diego won 5-1 to earn a split.

Ty France doubled twice and knocked in a run while Jackson Merrill also bagged two hits and an RBI.

"Let's go home and do some damage," Merrill said.

While San Diego tries to run down the Diamondbacks, the Astros will attempt to maintain their 1 1/2-game lead on the Texas Rangers in the American League West as they begin a six-game road trip. They lost 5-4 on Wednesday to Toronto in 10 innings to cap a 4-2 homestand.

Right-hander Ronel Blanco (0-1, 7.36) draws the start in the series opener for Houston. He last worked on Saturday in his team's 5-4 win over Texas, allowing five hits and three runs in 4 2/3 innings while walking two and striking out four in a no decision. This will be his first career start against the Padres.

The Astros are being carried offensively by Yordan Alvarez, who is playing at a level befitting a league Most Valuable Player. He starts the series with a .329 average, 35 homers and 85 RBI, putting him in range of becoming the first player to win a Triple Crown since Miguel Cabrera did it for Detroit in 2012.

But Alvarez will need some help from mainstays like Jose Altuve, who has four straight multi-hit games after seeing his average drop to .228 on July 27. Batting .450 in six games in August, Altuve has raised his batting average to .224. This version of Altuve is one that has repeatedly starred in October over the last decade.

"If I can get hot and help the team the last two months and win the division and go to playoffs like that, it's going to be good for me and for the team," Altuve said.

--Field Level Media