Houston Astros (54-28, first in the AL West) vs. Oakland Athletics (28-56, fifth in the AL West)
Oakland, California; Friday, 9:40 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Jose Urquidy (7-3, 4.15 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 63 strikeouts); Athletics: Paul Blackburn (6-3, 2.90 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 67 strikeouts)
BOTTOM LINE: The Oakland Athletics host the Houston Astros on Friday to open a three-game series.
Oakland has gone 10-30 in home games and 28-56 overall. The Athletics have gone 9-42 in games when they have given up at least one home run.
Houston has a 54-28 record overall and a 27-16 record on the road. Astros hitters have a collective .430 slugging percentage to rank fourth in the majors.
The matchup Friday is the fourth time these teams meet this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Seth Brown has 15 doubles, two triples and 10 home runs for the Athletics. Ramon Laureano is 10-for-36 with a double and four home runs over the past 10 games.
Yordan Alvarez has a .312 batting average to lead the Astros, and has 10 doubles, two triples and 26 home runs. Jacob Meyers is 11-for-33 with a home run and 10 RBI over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Athletics: 3-7, .211 batting average, 3.43 ERA, outscored by four runs
Astros: 9-1, .273 batting average, 2.60 ERA, outscored opponents by 31 runs
INJURIES: Athletics: Frankie Montas: day-to-day (shoulder), Jed Lowrie: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Jonah Bride: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Dany Jimenez: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Daulton Jefferies: 60-Day IL (arm), Deolis Guerra: 60-Day IL (elbow), Brent Honeywell Jr.: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Astros: Jeremy Pena: day-to-day (health and safety protocols), Jason Castro: 10-Day IL (knee), Blake Taylor: 60-Day IL (elbow), Michael Brantley: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Josh James: 60-Day IL (lat), Parker Mushinski: 15-Day IL (elbow), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-Day IL (forearm)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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