Houston Astros outfielder Norichika Aoki is starting in left field and batting ninth on Wednesday against the Oakland Athletics.
Houston is resting Josh Reddick, who came back on Tuesday for his first game since going on the 7-day concussion DL. Aoki is starting in his place, and may still rotate with him for the next few days.
At Oakland, the Astros are playing in the third-worst hitter's park on the slate today (0.934 park factor). To make matters worse, Oakland starter Sean Manaea has the fourth-highest strikeout rate among Wednesday starters and is good at keeping the ball down (seventh-highest ground-to-fly ball ratio). This is not a recommended matchup for Houston bats.
Source: Baseball Press