Houston Astros (99-51, first in the AL West) vs. Baltimore Orioles (77-71, fourth in the AL East)
Baltimore; Thursday, 7:05 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Justin Verlander (17-3, 1.78 ERA, .83 WHIP, 163 strikeouts); Orioles: Kyle Bradish (3-7, 5.05 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 93 strikeouts)
BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros will try to earn their 100th win this season when they visit the Baltimore Orioles.
Baltimore has a 42-32 record in home games and a 77-71 record overall. Orioles hitters have a collective .387 slugging percentage to rank ninth in the AL.
Houston is 99-51 overall and 49-28 on the road. Astros hitters have a collective .320 on-base percentage, the seventh-best percentage in the majors.
Thursday's game is the fourth meeting between these teams this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Ryan Mountcastle has 26 doubles, 22 home runs and 80 RBI for the Orioles. Gunnar Henderson is 13-for-38 with three doubles, a triple and two home runs over the last 10 games.
Yordan Alvarez leads the Astros with a .302 batting average, and has 24 doubles, two triples, 37 home runs, 73 walks and 94 RBI. Jose Altuve is 12-for-33 with a home run and an RBI over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Orioles: 4-6, .221 batting average, 5.22 ERA, outscored by 19 runs
Astros: 9-1, .277 batting average, 1.80 ERA, outscored opponents by 37 runs
INJURIES: Orioles: Chris Ellis: 60-Day IL (shoulder), John Means: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Astros: Jose Altuve: day-to-day (elbow), Michael Brantley: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jason Castro: 60-Day IL (knee), Josh James: 60-Day IL (lat)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
