Astros visit the Reds to open 3-game series

Houston Astros (75-62, first in the AL West) vs. Cincinnati Reds (65-73, fourth in the NL Central)

Cincinnati; Monday, 4:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Justin Verlander (3-4, 4.16 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 60 strikeouts); Reds: Julian Aguiar (1-0, 6.43 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, seven strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Astros -165, Reds +139; over/under is 9 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Cincinnati Reds start a three-game series at home against the Houston Astros on Monday.

Cincinnati has a 33-39 record at home and a 65-73 record overall. The Reds have gone 48-27 in games when they record at least eight hits.

Houston has a 36-33 record in road games and a 75-62 record overall. The Astros have a 35-13 record in games when they did not allow a home run.

The matchup Monday is the first meeting of the season between the two clubs.

TOP PERFORMERS: Elly De La Cruz has 31 doubles, eight triples and 22 home runs for the Reds. Tyler Stephenson is 14-for-36 with three doubles and two home runs over the past 10 games.

Yordan Alvarez has 29 doubles, two triples and 30 home runs for the Astros. Mauricio Dubon is 10-for-31 over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Reds: 3-7, .258 batting average, 5.83 ERA, outscored by 12 runs

Astros: 6-4, .265 batting average, 2.48 ERA, outscored opponents by 16 runs

INJURIES: Reds: Stuart Fairchild: 60-Day IL (thumb), Nick Lodolo: 15-Day IL (finger), Austin Wynns: 60-Day IL (teres), Andrew Abbott: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Jeimer Candelario: 10-Day IL (toe), Christian Roa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Hunter Greene: 15-Day IL (elbow), Graham Ashcraft: 60-Day IL (elbow), Nick Martini: 60-Day IL (thumb), Christian Encarnacion-Strand: 60-Day IL (hand), Ian Gibaut: 60-Day IL (forearm), Tejay Antone: 60-Day IL (elbow), Matt McLain: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

Astros: Alex Bregman: day-to-day (elbow), J.P. France: 60-Day IL (undisclosed), Kyle Tucker: 60-Day IL (shin), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (forearm), Jose Urquidy: 60-Day IL (forearm), 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), Kendall Graveman: 60-Day IL (elbow)

___

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