The last time Miles Mikolas faced the Houston Astros, it didn't go well at all. The young righty was making his second career big-league start after a fairly solid debut against the Orioles and got shelled to the tune of 12 hits, nine runs and a 12.00-plus ERA in a 12-7 loss to the Astros at home.
After bouncing back a couple of starts later, Mikolas turned in another solid outing when he pitched 7 1/3 innings in the Bronx and allowed just two runs on four hits. Then, he was shelled again by Oakland. Then, he bounced back again.
See the trend here?
In his last outing, Mikolas was excellent, working seven innings while allowing two runs in a tough-luck 2-0 loss to the Cleveland Indians. Now, he gets a chance to build on that and not regress against his old friends the Astros.
Mikolas isn't a likely candidate to figure into a spot on the big club next season assuming everyone else is healthy again, but a strong finish to the season could increase the soon-to-be 26-year-old's confidence heading into what would surely be a season in the minors next season.
A strong effort for him on Friday could set up Yu Darvish to pitch the Rangers out of last place on Saturday. Now wouldn't that be fun?
