Astros meet the Guardians with 1-0 series lead

Updated May. 1, 2024 4:01 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Cleveland Guardians (19-10, first in the AL Central) vs. Houston Astros (10-19, fifth in the AL West)

Houston; Wednesday, 8:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Guardians: Triston McKenzie (2-2, 4.91 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, 18 strikeouts); Astros: Justin Verlander (1-0, 1.74 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 11 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Astros -175, Guardians +145; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros face the Cleveland Guardians with a 1-0 series lead.

Houston has a 5-9 record in home games and a 10-19 record overall. The Astros have the fifth-best team slugging percentage in the majors at .417.

Cleveland has an 11-6 record on the road and a 19-10 record overall. Guardians hitters have a collective .320 on-base percentage, the ninth-best percentage in MLB play.

Wednesday's game is the second meeting between these teams this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jose Altuve leads the Astros with a .345 batting average, and has nine doubles, seven home runs, 13 walks and nine RBI. Kyle Tucker is 14-for-37 with two home runs and six RBI over the past 10 games.

Jose Ramirez has five doubles, a triple and five home runs for the Guardians. Josh Naylor is 8-for-38 with three doubles and three home runs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 4-6, .255 batting average, 4.30 ERA, outscored opponents by one run

Guardians: 6-4, .242 batting average, 3.94 ERA, outscored opponents by eight runs

INJURIES: Astros: 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)

Guardians: Shane Bieber: 60-Day IL (elbow), Eli Morgan: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Angel Martinez: 60-Day IL (foot), Gavin Williams: 15-Day IL (elbow), Sam Hentges: 15-Day IL (finger), Trevor Stephan: 60-Day IL (elbow), James Karinchak: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.