Verlander scheduled to start for Houston against Boston
Boston Red Sox (27-25, third in the AL East) vs. Houston Astros (35-18, first in the AL West)
Houston; Sunday, 2 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Red Sox: Eduardo Rodriguez (4-3, 5.43 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 61 strikeouts) Astros: Justin Verlander (8-1, 2.24 ERA, .73 WHIP, 89 strikeouts)
LINE: Astros favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Houston and Boston will play at Minute Maid Park on Sunday.
The Astros are 20-6 in home games. Houston has hit 91 home runs this season, third in the majors. Alex Bregman leads them with 15, averaging one every 11.9 at-bats.
The Red Sox are 14-15 in road games. Boston has a team on-base percentage of .337, good for second in the American League. Mookie Betts leads the team with a mark of .395. The Astros won the last meeting 4-3. Roberto Osuna notched his third victory and Carlos Correa went 3-for-4 with an RBI for Houston. Matt Barnes registered his first loss for Boston.
TOP PERFORMERS: Bregman leads the Astros with 15 home runs and is batting .263. Josh Reddick has 12 hits and is batting .000 over the last 10 games for Houston.
Rafael Devers leads the Red Sox with 63 hits and has 29 RBIs. Xander Bogaerts is 15-for-42 with four doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs over the last 10 games for Boston.
LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 7-3, .252 batting average, 2.63 ERA, outscored opponents by nine runs
Red Sox: 5-5, .278 batting average, 3.91 ERA, outscored opponents by four runs
Astros Injuries: Joe Smith: 10-day IL (achilles), Collin McHugh: 10-day IL (right elbow discomfort), Lance McCullers Jr.: 10-day IL (elbow), George Springer: 10-day IL (hamstring), Jose Altuve: 10-day IL (hamstring), Max Stassi: day-to-day (knee).
Red Sox Injuries: Tyler Thornburg: 10-day IL (hip), David Price: day-to-day (flu-like symptoms), Brian Johnson: 10-day IL (elbow), Nathan Eovaldi: 10-day IL (elbow), Dustin Pedroia: day-to-day (knee), Tzu-Wei Lin: 10-day IL (knee), Brock Holt: 10-day IL (eye), J.D. Martinez: day-to-day (sore back).
