Scott Kazmir is traded from Athletics to his hometown Astros

Houston has decided not to go down in the American League West without a fight.

The Astros have acquired pitcher Scott Kazmir from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for a pair of minor-league players, right-handed pitcher Daniel Mengden and catcher Jacob Nottingham.

Kazmir, a Houston native, will join fellow lefty Dallas Keuchel at the top of the Astros’ rotation.

“He’s one of the top starters in the American League,” Houston General Manager Jeff Luhnow said of Kazmir, who is expected to join his new team Friday.

“We looked at a lot of his games this year. He pitches deep into games, doesn’t walk guys, doesn’t give up a lot of hits. I don’t think he’s given up double-digit hits once this whole season. He’s just a performer. If you look at a guy who can plug into our situation here and make us better, he’s really at the top of the list.”

Houston has won three straight games to remain two games back of the red-hot Angels in the AL West. Kazmir is a three-time All-Star who also has pitched for Tampa Bay, the Angels and Cleveland. He’s 5-5 with a 2.38 ERA in 18 starts for Oakland this season.

Kazmir was slated to start for the A’s against Toronto on Thursday afternoon but instead found himself saying goodbye to his Oakland teammates and fans.

“While we didn’t reach all our team goals with my time here, we had a great group of people,” Kazmir tweeted Thursday afternoon. “I will always look back at this chapter of my career with fondness and gratitude.”