Houston takes on Oakland in division matchup
Oakland Athletics (86-60, second in the AL West) vs. Houston Astros (95-52, first in the AL West)
Houston; Thursday, 8 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Homer Bailey (12-8, 4.87 ERA) Astros: Justin Verlander (18-5, 2.52 ERA)
BOTTOM LINE: Houston will host Oakland in a meeting of division foes.
The Astros are 47-17 against AL West opponents. Houston leads the league in hitting with a .276 batting average, Michael Brantley leads the team with an average of .323.
The Athletics are 35-28 against opponents from the AL West. Oakland has hit 232 home runs this season, fifth in the league. Matt Chapman leads the team with 32, averaging one every 16.4 at-bats. The Athletics won the last meeting 5-3. Brett Anderson recorded his 12th victory and Marcus Semien went 3-for-5 with a home run and an RBI for Oakland. Josh James registered his first loss for Houston.
TOP PERFORMERS: Alex Bregman leads the Astros with 35 home runs and is batting .296. George Springer is 9-for-23 with five home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games for Houston.
Semien leads the Athletics with 167 hits and has 81 RBIs. Matt Olson has 11 hits and is batting .314 over the last 10 games for Oakland.
LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 7-3, .291 batting average, 4.50 ERA, outscored opponents by 26 runs
Athletics: 8-2, .270 batting average, 4.55 ERA, outscored opponents by 24 runs
Astros Injuries: Aaron Sanchez: (pectoral), Ryan Pressly: (knee), Brad Peacock: (shoulder), Collin McHugh: (undisclosed), Lance McCullers Jr.: (elbow), Yuli Gurriel: (leg), Carlos Correa: (back).
Athletics Injuries: Daniel Gossett: (elbow), Stephen Piscotty: (ankle), Luis Barrera: (shoulder).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.