Houston puts win streak on the line against Boston
Houston Astros (30-15, first in the AL West) vs. Boston Red Sox (23-21, third in the AL East)
Boston; Saturday, 7:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Corbin Martin (1-0, 3.38 ERA, .75 WHIP, 9 strikeouts) Red Sox: Hector Velazquez (1-2, 3.95 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 22 strikeouts)
LINE: Astros favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 10 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Houston enters the game as winners of their last nine games.
The Red Sox are 12-9 on their home turf. Boston's team on-base percentage of .335 is fifth in the MLB. J.D. Martinez leads the club with an OBP of .388.
The Astros are 14-11 on the road. Houston has hit 84 combined home runs this season, most in the American League. George Springer leads the club with 17 homers. The Astros won the last meeting 3-1. Will Harris earned his first victory and Springer went 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs for Houston. Rick Porcello registered his fourth loss for Boston.
TOP PERFORMERS: Mitch Moreland leads the Red Sox with 12 home runs and is batting .222. Martinez is 11-for-40 with a double, five home runs and 11 RBIs over the last 10 games for Boston.
Springer leads the Astros with 26 extra base hits and is slugging .663. Jake Marisnick is 9-for-22 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and five RBIs over the last 10 games for Houston.
LAST 10 GAMES: Red Sox: 7-3, .264 batting average, 3.03 ERA, outscored opponents by 32 runs
Astros: 9-1, .299 batting average, 3.00 ERA, outscored opponents by 41 runs
Red Sox Injuries: David Price: 10-day IL (elbow), Brian Johnson: 10-day IL (elbow), Nathan Eovaldi: 10-day IL (elbow), Dustin Pedroia: 10-day IL (knee), Tzu-Wei Lin: 10-day IL (knee), Brock Holt: 10-day IL (eye).
Astros Injuries: Joe Smith: 10-day IL (achilles), Lance McCullers Jr.: 10-day IL (elbow), Aledmys Diaz: day-to-day (hamstring), Jose Altuve: 10-day IL (hamstring).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by HERO Sports, and data from Sportradar.