Los Angeles Angels (45-44, fourth in the AL West) vs. Houston Astros (55-33, first in the AL West)
Houston; Saturday, 7:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Angels: Andrew Heaney (1-2, 5.40 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 44 strikeouts) Astros: Gerrit Cole (8-5, 3.28 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 161 strikeouts)
LINE: Astros favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE:
The Astros are 24-7 against AL West teams. The Houston offense has compiled a .266 batting average as a team this season, good for sixth in the MLB. Michael Brantley leads the team with an average of .318.
The Angels are 18-25 against teams from the AL West. Los Angeles has slugged .438 this season. Mike Trout leads the team with a mark of .636. The Angels won the last meeting 5-4. Felix Pena earned his sixth victory and Kole Calhoun went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBIs for Los Angeles. Justin Verlander took his fourth loss for Houston.
TOP PERFORMERS: Alex Bregman leads the Astros with 23 home runs and is slugging .535. Yuli Gurriel has 15 hits and is batting .405 over the last 10 games for Houston.
Trout leads the Angels with 26 home runs and is batting .303. Shohei Ohtani is 16-for-36 with four doubles, four home runs and six RBIs over the last 10 games for Los Angeles.
LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 7-3, .275 batting average, 4.89 ERA, outscored by four runs
Angels: 6-4, .254 batting average, 4.05 ERA, outscored by one run
Astros Injuries: Joe Smith: 60-day IL (achilles), Brad Peacock: 10-day IL (shoulder), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-day IL (elbow), Aledmys Diaz: 10-day IL (hamstring), Carlos Correa: 10-day IL (rib).
Angels Injuries: JC Ramirez: 60-day IL (elbow), Keynan Middleton: 60-day IL (elbow), Matt Harvey: 10-day IL (back), Justin Upton: day-to-day (quad), Brian Goodwin: 10-day IL (wrist), Tommy La Stella: 10-day IL (tibia), Zack Cozart: 10-day IL (shoulder), Kevan Smith: 10-day IL (hand).
