(Photo credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images)

The Houston Astros are looking for a spark and hope veteran LaMonte Wade Jr. can provide it.

Released Monday by the Chicago White Sox, Wade was in the starting lineup Thursday night when the Astros lost the finale of a three-game interleague series against the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-1.

Wade went hitless in four at-bats, but Houston manager Joe Espada sounded confident that Wade can help the team. The Astros will host the Athletics for a three-game series beginning Friday night as Houston starts to conclude a nine-game homestand that has produced a 2-4 record.

The White Sox signed Wade, 32, to a minor league contract in the offseason, and he has spent the season at Triple-A Charlotte.

'We've had an interest in him for a while,' Espada said. 'We like the lefty bat. Corner outfield. Swing decisions. Really good coming off the bench, giving quality at-bats against high-leverage righties, and can spell (Christian) Walker at first base. So I like the player.

'He does give you the quality at-bat. He sees a ton of pitches, and he's someone that you can sandwich in the middle of the lineup. He makes contact, hits the ball to all fields, and he's been around. He's something that we've been looking for.'

Wade is in his eighth season, previously playing for the Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Angels. He is a career .235 hitter with 55 home runs and 185 RBIs in 561 games. At Charlotte, he hit .250 in 46 games, walking 45 times.

Right-hander Peter Lambert (4-4, 3.77 ERA) is scheduled to start the series opener for the Astros. He won his second consecutive decision Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers after allowing two runs on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts over five innings in a 9-2 victory. Lambert has logged five innings in successive starts after working at least six in four of the previous five starts.

Lambert is 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA in one career appearance against the Athletics. That game was in 2024, when Lambert was a member of the Colorado Rockies.

Right-hander Jack Perkins (2-2, 5.46 ERA) will start for the Athletics on Friday. It will mark his 18th appearance and first start of the season. He has thrown only 28 innings in those 17 games, with the longest outing coming May 25 in his team's' 9-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners. That day, he threw the final 4 2/3 innings.

Perkins will make his second career appearance against the Astros. He worked two scoreless innings of relief at Houston on July 27, 2025, allowing two hits and one walk with one strikeout in a 7-1 win.

Shortstop Jacob Wilson is nearing a return from the injured list for the Athletics, who allowed four runs in the ninth inning in a 7-6, walk-off loss to the Chicago Cubs on Thursday. Wilson (left shoulder dislocation) missed his 22nd game since landing on the IL on May 11.

'We look forward to getting him back and putting him back in that lineup to give us some more length and give us a guy whose bat-to-ball skills are elite and really has an impact on the lineup,' Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said.

'It's never easy to fill a position in the lineup that contributes at that level. From that standpoint, the guys (Darell Hernaiz and Alika Williams) that have filled in have done a nice job, but it's always hard to replace that type of production from a guy that was an All-Star.'

--Field Level Media