Boston Red Sox (65-59, third in the AL East) vs. Houston Astros (68-56, first in the AL West)
Houston; Tuesday, 8:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Red Sox: Nick Pivetta (5-8, 4.49 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 123 strikeouts); Astros: Ronel Blanco (9-6, 2.89 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 130 strikeouts)
: LINE Astros -123, Red Sox +104; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros will try to keep their three-game home win streak alive when they take on the Boston Red Sox.
Houston has a 35-27 record at home and a 68-56 record overall. The Astros are 28-10 in games when they hit two or more home runs.
Boston has a 36-27 record in road games and a 65-59 record overall. Red Sox hitters have a collective .440 slugging percentage to rank second in the AL.
The teams play Tuesday for the fifth time this season. The Astros are up 4-0 in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jose Altuve has 22 doubles and 16 home runs for the Astros. Alex Bregman is 16-for-45 with four doubles and five home runs over the last 10 games.
Ceddanne Rafaela has 16 doubles, four triples, 13 home runs and 59 RBI for the Red Sox. Masataka Yoshida is 14-for-31 with two doubles and three home runs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 9-1, .281 batting average, 1.98 ERA, outscored opponents by 27 runs
Red Sox: 4-6, .260 batting average, 5.35 ERA, outscored by six runs
INJURIES: Astros: Ryan Pressly: 15-Day IL (back), Alex Bregman: day-to-day (elbow), Kyle Tucker: 60-Day IL (shin), Justin Verlander: 15-Day IL (neck), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (forearm), Jose Urquidy: 60-Day IL (forearm), 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), Kendall Graveman: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Red Sox: Cam Booser: 15-Day IL (elbow), James Paxton: 15-Day IL (leg), Bryan Mata: 60-Day IL (hamstring), Justin Slaten: 15-Day IL (elbow), Garrett Whitlock: 60-Day IL (oblique), Trevor Story: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Liam Hendriks: 60-Day IL (elbow), Chris Murphy: 60-Day IL (elbow), Lucas Giolito: 60-Day IL (elbow)
