Astros face the Athletics after Miley's strong showing
Oakland Athletics (58-44, second in the AL West) vs. Houston Astros (65-38, first in the AL West)
Houston; Wednesday, 2 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Chris Bassitt (7-4, 3.96 ERA) Astros: Justin Verlander (12-4, 2.99 ERA)
LINE: Astros favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Houston heads into the matchup after a dominant performance by Wade Miley. Miley threw eight innings, giving up two runs on four hits with six strikeouts against Oakland.
The Astros are 34-12 against AL West teams. Houston ranks third in the league in hitting with a .271 batting average, Michael Brantley leads the club with an average of .330.
The Athletics are 25-23 against the rest of their division. The Oakland pitching staff owns a team ERA of 4.03, Mike Fiers paces the staff with a mark of 3.45. The Athletics won the last meeting 4-3. Yusmeiro Petit earned his third victory and Matt Olson went 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs for Oakland. Collin McHugh registered his fifth loss for Houston.
TOP PERFORMERS: Yuli Gurriel leads the Astros with 47 extra base hits and is slugging .525. George Springer is 8-for-34 with a double, four home runs and nine RBIs over the last 10 games for Houston.
Matt Chapman leads the Athletics with 52 extra base hits and is batting .277. Khris Davis is 6-for-39 with a double and six RBIs over the last 10 games for Oakland.
LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 7-3, .287 batting average, 2.90 ERA, outscored opponents by 30 runs
Athletics: 7-3, .261 batting average, 4.12 ERA, outscored opponents by 17 runs
Astros Injuries: Ryan Pressly: day-to-day (knee), Brad Peacock: 10-day IL (shoulder), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-day IL (elbow), Josh James: 10-day IL (shoulder), Carlos Correa: 60-day IL (rib).
Athletics Injuries: Sean Manaea: 60-day IL (shoulder), Daniel Gossett: 60-day IL (elbow), Marco Estrada: 60-day IL (lumbar strain), Jharel Cotton: 60-day IL (elbow/hamstring), Stephen Piscotty: 10-day IL (knee), Nick Hundley: 10-day IL (back).
