Oakland Athletics (52-92, fifth in the AL West) vs. Houston Astros (94-50, first in the AL West)
Houston; Friday, 8:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Adrian Martinez (4-4, 5.59 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 31 strikeouts); Astros: Justin Verlander (0-0)
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -374, Athletics +292; over/under is 7 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros play the Oakland Athletics with a 1-0 series lead.
Houston has a 94-50 record overall and a 48-22 record at home. The Astros are 57-3 in games when they scored at least five runs.
Oakland has a 29-43 record in road games and a 52-92 record overall. The Athletics have a 20-10 record in games when they hit two or more home runs.
Friday's game is the 17th time these teams match up this season. The Astros are up 10-6 in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Alex Bregman has 35 doubles and 21 home runs for the Astros. Yordan Alvarez is 11-for-33 with five doubles, two home runs and three RBI over the last 10 games.
Sean Murphy has 33 doubles, two triples and 18 home runs for the Athletics. Seth Brown is 12-for-35 with two doubles and five home runs over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 8-2, .255 batting average, 2.18 ERA, outscored opponents by 19 runs
Athletics: 3-7, .222 batting average, 6.95 ERA, outscored by 18 runs
INJURIES: Astros: Justin Verlander: 15-Day IL (calf), Michael Brantley: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jason Castro: 60-Day IL (knee), Josh James: 60-Day IL (lat)
Athletics: Adam Oller: 15-Day IL (rib), Zach Jackson: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Dany Jimenez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Paul Blackburn: 60-Day IL (finger), Daulton Jefferies: 60-Day IL (arm), Deolis Guerra: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
