ASTROS ACQUIRE KAZMIR IN DEAL WITH ATHLETICS

The Houston Astros, in the middle of a playoff push for the first time in nearly a decade, have made a major trade to help bolster their starting pitching.

The Astros Thursday, picked up former All-Star pitcher Scott Kazmir from the Oakland A’s.

Oakland received highly sought-after catcher Jacob Nottingham and right-handed pitcher Daniel Mengden.

Kazmir, who played his high school baseball at Cy Falls, is expected to join the Astros in Kansas City on Friday. He went 5-5 with a 2.38 ERA in 18 starts this season for Oakland.

He has 96 big-league wins and a career earned run average of 3.95.  He was 15-9 for the A’s last year with a 3.55 earned run average.

Nottingham, a 6-foot-3 and 227 pound 20-year old was a sixth-round pick by the Astros out of Redlands (Calif.) High School in 2013. In 168 professional games, he has hit .280 with an .816 OPS.

Mengden, 22, was drafted in the fourth round by Houston out of Texas A&M in 2014. He has 101 strikeouts in 99 1/3 professional innings.