HOUSTON -- Oakland Athletics rookie 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 looking 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 looked good.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 good. 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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The Oilers signed Bryzgalov to a one-year $2 million contract last Friday after shedding payroll by dealing defenceman Ladislav Smid to the Flames. LOS ANGELES -- MIAMI (5-4) vs LOS ANGELES (4-5)Sunday, 4 p.m. EST, FoxOPENING LINE -- Dolphins by 1 1/2RECORD VS. SPREAD -- Miami 4-4-1, Los Angeles 4-3-2SERIES RECORD -- Dolphins lead 10-2LAST MEETING -- Dolphins beat Rams 17-14, Oct. 14, 2012LAST WEEK -- Dolphins beat Chargers 31-24; Rams beat Jets 9-6AP PRO32 RANKING -- Dolphins No. 14, Rams No. 27DOLPHINS OFFENSE -- OVERALL (22), RUSH (6), PASS (28).DOLPHINS DEFENSE -- OVERALL (20), RUSH (30), PASS (9).RAMS OFFENSE -- OVERALL (31), RUSH (29), PASS (25).RAMS DEFENSE -- OVERALL (7), RUSH (17), PASS (8).STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES -- Dolphins have won four straight for first time since 2008 to enter playoff race in coach Adam Gases first season. ... Team spent week on California coast in Carlsbad after beating San Diego. That was Dolphins first win on the West Coast since 2010. ... Miami has scored 27 points in every game of winning streak, most prolific scoring stretch since 2009. ... DE Cameron Wake has six of Dolphins 12 sacks during winning streak. ... Pro Bowl LT Branden Albert wont play (dislocated left wrist). ... Dolphins havent played in Los Angeles since Oct.dddddddddddd 9, 1988, beating Raiders at Coliseum. ... Dolphins last played Rams in Southern California in 1986, beating Eric Dickersons team in Anaheim on late TD pass from Dan Marino to Mark Duper. ... No. 1 draft pick Jared Goff makes NFL debut for Rams, taking over for Case Keenum as starting QB on struggling offense. ... Goffs first No. 1 pick QB not to start teams opener since JaMarcus Russell in 2007. ... Rams desperate for boost to somnolent offense, currently ranked last in NFL with 15.4 points per game. ... Rams snapped four-game losing streak last weekend. ... Stingy defense has held last three opponents under 18 points. ... RB Todd Gurley still cant get going. He has 515 yards rushing for 17th in NFL, but meager 3.1 yards per carry. ... Fantasy Tip: Goffs top target could be Kenny Britt, who leads Rams with 44 catches for 693 yards.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '