(Photo credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images)

With a chance to post consecutive victories for the first time in two weeks, the visiting Houston Astros will look to maintain their position in the American League postseason picture against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.

Houston (80-68) recorded a pivotal 11-3 win in the series opener on Friday, maintaining its tie atop the AL West standings with the Seattle Mariners. As the red-hot Texas Rangers won their fifth straight game and trail the Astros by just two games in the division, Houston will need to continue to take advantage of the Braves (65-82) on Saturday.

Providing much-needed help from an unexpected place, Houston left fielder Zach Cole homered on the first pitch he saw as a major leaguer before finishing with three hits and four RBIs. He helped to give the Astros their first series-opening win since beating the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 29, though Houston only split the four-game series

'We brought him up at the right time,' Houston manager Joe Espada said of the 25-year-old Cole. 'Right now is when we need him. I'm really happy for him. The guys are excited and he really sparked our club.'

Hunter Brown (11-7, 2.25 ERA) takes the baseball's second-best ERA into play on Friday in the ace's 29th start of the year. After posting a 1.67 ERA in six starts in August, Brown followed with six scoreless innings last Saturday in an 11-0 win over the Rangers.

'He's a big reason why we're in the position we're in,' said first baseman Christian Walker, who had three hits and drove in a pair of runs on Friday. 'We can count on him every five days. He's a lot of fun to play behind. He pounds his zone, he works quick, he competes.'

In two career starts against Atlanta, Brown is 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA.

Stumbling to the finish line, the Braves dropped their 10th game in 14 tries on Friday and ensured the club's first losing season since 2017. Nearing its mathematical elimination from postseason contention, Atlanta can still play the role of spoiler down the stretch.

Making his 26th start of the season on Saturday, Bryce Elder (7-9, 5.35 ERA) will hope to continue a string of impressive starts. After allowing eight runs in 4 2/3 innings to raise his ERA to 6.29 on Aug. 19, Elder has gone 2-0 with a 1.37 ERA in his past four starts.

Last time out, the 26-year-old right-hander allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings in a 4-1 win over the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 8.

'It's nice to see him on this run he's on,' Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Elder. 'He's been through a lot, but he's handled it well. He kept battling through it, never offered any excuses, kept working, made some adjustments and he got to pitching like we all know he's capable of. All this has made him tougher mentally.'

In his only career appearance against Houston, Elder allowed one unearned run across six innings in a no-decision on April 21, 2023, an eventual 6-4 Houston win.

-Field Level Media