Astros bring 1-0 series lead over Athletics into game 2

Houston Astros (23-28, third in the AL West) vs. Oakland Athletics (21-32, fourth in the AL West)

Oakland, California; Saturday, 4:07 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Spencer Arrighetti (2-4, 7.16 ERA, 1.81 WHIP, 36 strikeouts); Athletics: JP Sears (3-3, 4.31 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 39 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Astros -172, Athletics +145; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros bring a 1-0 advantage into the next game of the series against the Oakland Athletics.

Oakland has a 12-15 record at home and a 21-32 record overall. The Athletics are 14-5 in games when they have more hits than their opponents.

Houston has gone 9-13 in road games and 23-28 overall. The Astros have the best team batting average in the AL at .265.

Saturday's game is the sixth time these teams square off this season. The Astros are ahead 5-0 in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: JJ Bleday has 15 doubles, two triples and eight home runs for the Athletics. Max Schuemann is 10-for-35 with a double over the past 10 games.

Kyle Tucker has 11 doubles and 17 home runs for the Astros. Jacob Berkshire Meyers is 13-for-35 with two doubles, three home runs and nine RBI over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Athletics: 2-8, .225 batting average, 5.09 ERA, outscored by 23 runs

Astros: 7-3, .273 batting average, 3.13 ERA, outscored opponents by 16 runs

INJURIES: Athletics: Esteury Ruiz: 10-Day IL (wrist), Darell Hernaiz: 60-Day IL (ankle), Alex Wood: 15-Day IL (rotator cuff), Paul Blackburn: 15-Day IL (foot), Joseph Boyle: 15-Day IL (back), Freddy Tarnok: 60-Day IL (hip), Luis Medina: 60-Day IL (knee), Sean Newcomb: 60-Day IL (knee), Aledmys Diaz: 60-Day IL (calf), Ken Waldichuk: 60-Day IL (elbow), Trevor Gott: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Astros: Oliver Ortega: 60-Day IL (elbow), Bennett Sousa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Penn Murfee: 60-Day IL (elbow), Luis Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jose Urquidy: 15-Day IL (forearm), Kendall Graveman: 60-Day IL (elbow)

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.