Houston Astros (24-17, second in the AL West) vs. Oakland Athletics (25-17, first in the AL West)
Oakland, California; Tuesday, 9:40 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Cristian Javier (3-1, 3.08 ERA, .97 WHIP, 44 strikeouts) Athletics: Sean Manaea (3-2, 4.40 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 45 strikeouts)
LINE: Athletics -114, Astros -102; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Yuli Gurriel and the Astros will take on the Athletics Tuesday.
The Athletics are 2-5 against the rest of their division. Oakland has hit 53 home runs this season, sixth in the American League. Matt Olson leads the club with nine, averaging one every 14.6 at-bats.
The Astros are 19-8 against AL West Division opponents. Houston's team on-base percentage of .329 is third in the majors. Yuli Gurriel leads the club with an OBP of .400.
The Athletics won the last meeting 7-3. Frankie Montas secured his first victory and Ramon Laureano went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs for Oakland. Jose Urquidy registered his first loss for Houston.
TOP PERFORMERS: Olson leads the Athletics with nine home runs and has 25 RBIs.
Gurriel leads the Astros with 46 hits and has 31 RBIs.
LAST 10 GAMES: Athletics: 6-4, .234 batting average, 3.89 ERA, outscored by one run
Astros: 8-2, .303 batting average, 3.33 ERA, outscored opponents by 28 runs
INJURIES: Athletics: J.B. Wendelken: (left oblique), Trevor Rosenthal: (chest), A.J. Puk: (left biceps), Jesus Luzardo: (left hand), Mike Fiers: (right elbow), Mitch Moreland: (left side).
Astros: Justin Verlander: (elbow), Framber Valdez: (finger), Jose Urquidy: (shoulder), Blake Taylor: (ankle), Austin Pruitt: (elbow), Jake Odorizzi: (right pronator muscle), Josh James: (hip), Pedro Baez: (right shoulder).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
