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The Houston Astros close out a roller-coaster road trip when they face the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday afternoon at Angel Stadium.The Astros lost the first two games of the nine-game trip to the Oakland A’s Eric Thames Jersey , dropping them into a tie atop the American League West standings, but they’ve rebounded to win their past four games and maintain a 1 1/2-game lead over Oakland entering Sunday.Houston (79-50) opens a three-game series against the visiting A’s on Monday.Article continues below ...Houston right-hander Gerrit Cole was available to pitch on regular rest Sunday, but the Astros are saving him for Monday’s series opener against the A’s.Instead, rookie left-hander Framber Valdez will make his first major league start in the series finale. His outing will come five days after he delivered a strong performance out of the bullpen to earn the victory in his major league debut.Valdez entered Tuesday’s game against the Seattle Mariners with two outs in the second inning and allowed one run (unearned) and two hits over 4 1/3 innings in the 3-2 victory.“He’s got a wipeout breaking ball, so he fits right in,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch told reporters after his debut.Valdez was the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Month for July, when he allowed one earned run in 22 1/3 innings for Class AA Corpus Christi.The Angels (63-67) still have eight games remaining against the Astros and can play a key role in the AL West race. They’ve lost five in a row and seven of eight to fall four games under .500 for the first time this season.Los Angeles started the season a franchise-best 13-3.The Angels will send right-hander Felix Pena (1-3 Glenn Robinson Jersey , 4.53) to the mound in the series finale.Injuries to the Los Angles pitching staff have created a need for Pena to log innings as a starter.“I don’t like the fact that I am here because other people got hurt,” Pena told mlb.com through a translator after his last start. “That is not a good thing for the team, but I will take the opportunity and continue working hard and improve and make sure to give the team what they need.”Pena, who was converted to a starter earlier this season, is winless in his past eight starts, but the Angels have averaged just 2.9 runs in those outings, leaving him little margin for error.He had a career-high 12 strikeouts in his last start on Tuesday at the Arizona Diamondbacks http://www.brewersfa...nny-pina-jersey , but Pena did not receive a decision after giving up four runs and seven hits in six innings of the 5-4 loss.Pena did not allow an earned run through six innings the previous week against the San Diego Padres and departed with a 2-1 lead, but again failed to get the win after the bullpen surrendered the tying run in the seventh inning before the Angels won 3-2.Pena has not faced Houston in his career. Victor Martinez’s playing career will come to an end on Saturday when the Detroit Tigers face the Kansas City Royals.He will be honored in a pregame ceremony at Comerica Park and serve as the designated hitter. He will not play the remainder of the season.Martinez, 39, has been in the majors since 2002. He is a career .295 hitter and has hit 246 home runs. He’s been with the Tigers organization since 2011, though he missed the 2012 season with a knee injury.Article continues below ...“I think that’s just me thanking the Detroit Tigers fans and everybody here,” he told the Detroit News. “To play the last game of my career here, it’s just one of the ways to thank everybody. I think that would be fair for everybody.”Manager Ron Gardenhire believes it’s a fitting way for Martinez to head into retirement.“He’s just a special guy who has had a great career Cecil Cooper Jersey ,” Gardenhire said. “Not just a good career, a great career. I’ve watched him from both sides, from the visitors’ dugout and from the home dugout. I’m pretty lucky.”Martinez will be facing a pitcher who has become a Tigers’ nemesis, Jakob Junis.The Royals right-hander has recorded half of his eight victories against his team’s American League Central Division rival. Junis has posting a 1.74 ERA while striking out 25 batters in 31 innings in those four starts. He’s held Tigers batters to a .193 average.Subtract those performances and Junis is 4-12 with a 5.04 ERA in his other starts. He’ll try to torment the Tigers once again in the third game of the four-game series.In his last start against them on Aug. 28, Junis collected the first complete-game victory of his career. He struck out seven and didn’t issue a walk in the 6-2 triumph.Junis (8-12, 4.42 ERA) had his shortest outing of the season on Sunday, giving up four runs on eight hits in three innings against Minnesota.“I had been keeping the ball down and staying ahead of hitters http://www.brewersfa...an-perez-jersey ,” Junis told MLB.com afterward. “(Sunday), I was behind hitters and not keeping the ball down. Wasn’t in the zone consistently.”The Tigers haven’t seen that side of him. He’s 6-1 with a 3.14 ERA in seven career starts. Junis doesn’t have more than two victories against any other team.Detroit’s top hitter this season, right fielder Nicholas Castellanos, has gone hitless in 14 career at-bats facing Junis.The Tigers will counter with veteran right-hander Jordan Zimmermann (7-8, 4.41 ERA). He, too, struggled in his last outing on Monday. Zimmermann surrendered five runs in seven hits in 3 2/3 innings against Minnesota. He’s been tagged for seven homers in his last four outings.“He was really upset Domingo Santana Jersey ,” Gardenhire said afterward. “Just trying to figure out what was going on. Part of it is we haven’t been scoring runs. He’s healthy and he’s been throwing the ball well. He’s given us a chance most night. Just the last couple have been rough.”Zimmermann has traditionally pitched well against the Royals. In eight career appearances, he’s 4-1 with a 2.08 ERA.The teams have split the first two games of the series.