Seattle Mariners (47-64, fifth in the AL West) vs. Houston Astros (70-40, first in the AL West)
Houston; Friday, 8 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Mariners: Yusei Kikuchi (4-7, 5.21 ERA) Astros: Wade Miley (9-4, 3.06 ERA)
BOTTOM LINE: Houston heads into the matchup fresh off a strong showing by Gerrit Cole. Cole pitched seven innings, surrendering one run on four hits with four strikeouts against Cleveland.
The Astros are 35-12 against teams from the AL West. Houston has hit 179 home runs this season, fourth in the MLB. Alex Bregman leads the club with 27, averaging one every 14 at-bats.
The Mariners have gone 23-36 against division opponents. Seattle has hit 178 home runs this season, fifth in the MLB. Daniel Vogelbach leads the club with 25, averaging one every 13.2 at-bats.
TOP PERFORMERS: Bregman leads the Astros with 27 home runs and is batting .265. Yordan Alvarez is 10-for-30 with four doubles, two home runs and six RBIs over the last 10 games for Houston.
Domingo Santana leads the Mariners with 67 RBIs and is batting .271. Austin Nola is 14-for-37 with four doubles, a triple, two home runs and seven RBIs over the last 10 games for Seattle.
LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 7-3, .264 batting average, 2.80 ERA, outscored opponents by 23 runs
Mariners: 7-3, .285 batting average, 4.00 ERA, outscored opponents by 13 runs
Astros Injuries: Ryan Pressly: 10-day IL (knee), Brad Peacock: 10-day IL (shoulder), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-day IL (elbow), Josh James: 10-day IL (shoulder).
Mariners Injuries: Arodys Vizcaino: 60-day IL (shoulder), Connor Sadzeck: 60-day IL (elbow), Felix Hernandez: 60-day IL (shoulder), Brandon Brennan: 10-day IL (shoulder), Chasen Bradford: 60-day IL (forearm), Dan Altavilla: 10-day IL (forearm), Austin Adams: 10-day IL (shoulder), Mitch Haniger: 10-day IL (testicle), Braden Bishop: 10-day IL (neck), Tim Beckham: day-to-day (oblique), Tim Lopes: 7-day IL (concussion), Ryon Healy: 60-day IL (back), Dee Gordon: 10-day IL (quad).
