HOUSTON -- Oakland Athletics rkie right-hander Daniel Mengden, a Houston native drafted by his hometown franchise, will get an opportunity to show the Astros what theyre missing Friday at Minute Maid Park.Mengden (1-4, 3.48 ERA) will make his first career start against the organization that selected him in the fourth round of the 2014 draft. Mengden was packaged along with catcher Jacob Nottingham in the deal that sent veteran left-hander Scott Kazmir to Houston on July 23, 2015.Selected from Triple-A Nashville on June 11, Mengden will make his sixth start of the career. His 31 strikeouts are tied for second in franchise history (since 1913) for the most by a pitcher over his first five appearances (Tim Hudson, 33 in 1999). Mengden, a product of nearby Texas A&M, began the season at Double-A Midland and finished 2-0 with a 0.78 ERA before his promotion to Nashville on May 1.With the Sounds, Mengden went 3-1 with a 1.39 ERA in seven starts. His ERA was the sixth-lowest in the minors at the time of his promotion.And while Mengden will get the first crack at helping Oakland (37-49) make it two in a row over the Astros following the Athletics 3-1 win on Friday night, the Oakland bullpen will also play a key role.Right-handers John Axford, Ryan Dull and Ryan Madson combined to work three perfect innings in the series opener, with Axford first relieving lefty Ken Hill and notching two strikeouts in the seventh inning. Axford had struggled of late, blowing two saves while posting an 18.00 ERA over his last six appearances.That was great to see, Athletics manager Bob Melvin. Weve seen now how effective he can be. Hes gone through a little bit of a tough stretch, obviously. I think lking at his history hes had some stretches through the course of the season where he hasnt been as effective and he works hard to get through it, but I think this was a big game for him to pitch in a close game like that, get a 1-2-3 inning. He lked gd.Right-hander Collin McHugh (5-6, 4.50 ERA) will make his 18th start of the season for the Astros. He allowed four runs on five hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings in his lone appearance against the Athletics this season but did not factor in the decision. McHugh is 4-1 with a 3.23 ERA in his career against the Athletics, a mark that includes six starts.While the Astros (46-40) will get an opportunity to improve to 12 games over .500 against right-handed starters, they fell to 11-16 against southpaw starters, a surprising record given the right-handed presence of George Springer, Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa in their lineup.We can certainly hit left-handed pitching, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. Weve got guys who can do it. Weve got a few guys hitting under their career norms, and thats never gd. Halfway through the season, I dont think we can declare that we cant hit lefties. I think weve got some left-handed pitchers we arent racing up to the batters box to face. 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CINCINNATI -- For the better part of eight seasons, Jay Bruce was a model of stability and professionalism for the Cincinnati Reds organization.On Monday afternn, Bruce was traded to the New York Mets in a deal designed to further the Reds rebuilding efforts.When Cincinnati begins a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night, a No. 32 jersey will be conspicuously absent from the large locker on the far left-hand corner of the clubhouse.Over the past nine seasons, we couldnt have asked for a better person to represent our team, our city and Major League Baseball, both on and off the field, Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said in a statement.During these difficult last few months, he has answered questions about his future almost daily, while continuing to handle himself with the class and professionalism he has shown since the day we drafted him.In exchange for Bruce, Cincinnati acquired infielder Dilson Herrera and left-hander Max Wotell. Herrera, 22, originally was signed by Pittsburgh in 2010 and was acquired by the Mets in August 2013. Wotell, 19, was the Mets third-round pick in 2015.This was a very difficult trade for us to make because of how our fans, ownership and everyone in our organization feel about Jay, but we acquired two quality players who better fit the direction our organization is heading, Jocketty said.Herrera is considered one of the brightest young stars in the game today. Wotell fits in with the other gd, strong arms weve been trying to stockpile in our minor league system.The Cardinals, who begin play Tuesday in second place in the National LLeague Central behind the Chicago Cubs, made a deal to bolster their bullpen at Mondays non-waiver trade deadline, acquiring lefty Zack Duke from the Chicago White Sox.ddddddddddddThe Reds and Cardinals will play six times over the next nine days, beginning with this weeks three-game set. Coming into Tuesdays series opener, St. Louis is 18-4 over the past 11 series at Great American Ball Park.Cincinnati will try to reverse that trend on Tuesday behind right-hander Dan Straily who went from a long reliever to being among the Reds most dependable starters.Opponents are hitting just .207 against Straily, who will make his first career start against St. Louis. He leads the Reds staff in innings pitched (122), strikeouts (97) and quality starts (12).The Cardinals counter with Adam Wainwright, who has overcome a rough start to the season to post a 1.77 ERA in July, which ranks ninth among all major league pitchers.St. Louis is 14-3 in his last 17 starts and has won six of his last seven road starts.Cincinnati has had success against Wainwright, however. His 4.44 ERA against the Reds is the second-highest against any opponent. Wainwright allowed two earned runs in six innings in a 3-2 win against them on June 9. On April 16, Cincinnati roughed him up with a season-high seven runs allowed.Hes been gd, very gd, St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said. The fastball execution has been very sharp here lately. Gd movement on the cutter sinker and that makes the curveball better. ' ' '