Gurriel takes 14-game hit streak into matchup with Cardinals
Houston Astros (66-39, first in the AL West) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (56-47, first in the AL Central)
St. Louis; Saturday, 7:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Gerrit Cole (11-5, 3.03 ERA) Cardinals: Daniel Ponce de Leon (1-0, 2.82 ERA)
LINE: Astros favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Houston's Gurriel puts 14-game hit streak on the line against Cardinals.
The Cardinals are 29-20 in home games. The St. Louis pitching staff owns a team ERA of 4.09, Dakota Hudson leads the staff with a mark of 3.61.
The Astros have gone 28-24 away from home. Houston has a team on-base percentage of .343, good for first in the American League. Alex Bregman leads the lineup with a mark of .392. The Cardinals won the last meeting 5-3. Andrew Miller recorded his fourth victory and Paul Goldschmidt went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs for St. Louis. Ryan Pressly took his second loss for Houston.
TOP PERFORMERS: Marcell Ozuna leads the Cardinals with 62 RBIs and is batting .259. Goldschmidt is 11-for-35 with six home runs and 16 RBIs over the last 10 games for St. Louis.
Michael Brantley leads the Astros with 125 hits and is batting .326. Yuli Gurriel is 16-for-39 with five doubles, four home runs and 10 RBIs over the last 10 games for Houston.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 9-1, .255 batting average, 4.60 ERA, outscored opponents by 19 runs
Astros: 7-3, .267 batting average, 2.60 ERA, outscored opponents by 25 runs
Cardinals Injuries: Jordan Hicks: 60-day IL (elbow), Brett Cecil: 60-day IL (wrist/forearm), Marcell Ozuna: 10-day IL (hand), Jedd Gyorko: 10-day IL (back), Matt Carpenter: 10-day IL (foot), Yadier Molina: 10-day IL (thumb).
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).
