Houston Astros (12-20, fourth in the AL West) vs. Boston Red Sox (12-19, fifth in the AL East)
Boston; Friday, 7:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Mike Burrows (1-3, 6.25 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, 33 strikeouts); Red Sox: Jake Bennett (0-0)
LINE: Red Sox -114, Astros -105; over/under is 9 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Boston Red Sox aim to break their three-game home losing streak with a victory over the Houston Astros.
Boston has a 5-8 record at home and a 12-19 record overall. The Red Sox have a 10-1 record in games when they out-hit their opponents.
Houston has a 12-20 record overall and a 4-12 record in road games. The Astros are 1-2 in games decided by one run.
The matchup Friday is the fourth meeting between these teams this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Wilyer Abreu has six doubles, a triple and four home runs for the Red Sox. Marcelo Mayer is 10 for 27 with three doubles over the past 10 games.
Yordan Alvarez has nine doubles and 12 home runs for the Astros. Christian Walker is 14 for 40 with three doubles, three home runs and eight RBIs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Red Sox: 4-6, .238 batting average, 4.34 ERA, outscored by one run
Astros: 4-6, .281 batting average, 5.83 ERA, outscored by nine runs
INJURIES: Red Sox: Garrett Crochet: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Justin Slaten: 15-Day IL (oblique), Patrick Sandoval: 15-Day IL (elbow), Kutter Crawford: 15-Day IL (wrist), Triston Casas: 60-Day IL (knee), Sonny Gray: 15-Day IL (leg), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow), Romy Gonzalez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Tanner Houck: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Astros: Zach Dezenzo: 10-Day IL (elbow), Jeremy Pena: 10-Day IL (knee), Taylor Trammell: 10-Day IL (groin), Hunter Brown: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Brandon Walter: 60-Day IL (elbow), Nate Pearson: 15-Day IL (elbow), Joey Loperfido: 10-Day IL (quadricep), Ronel Blanco: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jake Meyers: 10-Day IL (oblique), Nick Allen: 10-Day IL (back), Tatsuya Imai: 15-Day IL (arm), Josh Hader: 60-Day IL (biceps), Hayden Wesneski: 60-Day IL (elbow)
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
