Tigers play the Astros in first of 3-game series
Houston Astros (13-24, fifth in the AL West) vs. Detroit Tigers (19-18, fourth in the AL Central)
Detroit; Friday, 6:40 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Framber Valdez (1-1, 3.97 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 19 strikeouts); Tigers: Casey Mize (1-1, 3.98 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 24 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Astros -136, Tigers +115; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Detroit Tigers host the Houston Astros to open a three-game series.
Detroit has a 19-18 record overall and an 8-9 record at home. The Tigers have an 8-1 record in games when they hit two or more home runs.
Houston has a 6-12 record on the road and a 13-24 record overall. The Astros have hit 44 total home runs to rank fourth in the AL.
Friday's game is the first time these teams square off this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Riley Greene leads the Tigers with nine home runs while slugging .515. Wenceel Perez is 11-for-36 with three home runs and five RBI over the last 10 games.
Kyle Tucker leads Houston with 11 home runs while slugging .558. Jon Singleton is 7-for-32 with four home runs and 10 RBI over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Tigers: 4-6, .248 batting average, 3.49 ERA, outscored opponents by six runs
Astros: 5-5, .237 batting average, 4.90 ERA, outscored by three runs
INJURIES: Tigers: Mark Canha: day-to-day (illness), Gio Urshela: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Sawyer Gipson-Long: 60-Day IL (groin)
Astros: Chas McCormick: 10-Day IL (hamstring), 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)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.