Astros play the Mariners in first of 3-game series
Seattle Mariners (17-14, first in the AL West) vs. Houston Astros (11-20, fourth in the AL West)
Houston; Friday, 8:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Mariners: George Kirby (3-2, 4.18 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 38 strikeouts); Astros: Ronel Blanco (3-0, 1.65 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 30 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Astros -115, Mariners -104; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros host the Seattle Mariners on Friday to open a three-game series.
Houston is 11-20 overall and 6-10 in home games. The Astros rank third in the AL with 37 total home runs, averaging 1.2 per game.
Seattle is 6-6 in road games and 17-14 overall. The Mariners are 12-1 in games when they have more hits than their opponents.
The teams meet Friday for the first time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jose Altuve leads the Astros with a .352 batting average, and has nine doubles, seven home runs, 13 walks and 11 RBI. Kyle Tucker is 12-for-37 with three home runs and six RBI over the last 10 games.
Caleb Raleigh leads the Mariners with six home runs while slugging .413. Julio Rodriguez is 11-for-39 with a double, a home run and four RBI over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 4-6, .247 batting average, 4.09 ERA, outscored opponents by five runs
Mariners: 7-3, .210 batting average, 1.62 ERA, outscored opponents by 14 runs
INJURIES: Astros: Chas McCormick: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Grae Kessinger: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Cristian Javier: 15-Day IL (neck), Oliver Ortega: 60-Day IL (elbow), Bennett Sousa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Penn Murfee: 60-Day IL (elbow), Luis Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jose Urquidy: 15-Day IL (forearm), Kendall Graveman: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Mariners: Gregory Santos: 60-Day IL (lat), J.P. Crawford: 10-Day IL (oblique), Dominic Canzone: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Bryan Woo: 15-Day IL (elbow), Matt Brash: 15-Day IL (elbow), Eduard Bazardo: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Jackson Kowar: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
