Astros visit the Reds to start 3-game series

Houston Astros (15-23, fifth in the AL West) vs. Cincinnati Reds (20-18, fifth in the NL Central)

Cincinnati; Friday, 6:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Mike Burrows (1-4, 5.97 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, 36 strikeouts); Reds: Nick Lodolo (0-0)

LINE: Reds -136, Astros +114; over/under is 9 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Cincinnati Reds host the Houston Astros on Friday to open a three-game series.

Cincinnati is 20-18 overall and 10-8 in home games. The Reds have an 11-5 record in games when they did not allow a home run.

Houston has a 6-13 record in road games and a 15-23 record overall. The Astros have the third-best team batting average in MLB play at .261.

Friday's game is the first time these teams match up this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Elly De La Cruz has seven doubles, 10 home runs and 28 RBIs while hitting .265 for the Reds. Spencer Steer is 12 for 34 with a double and two home runs over the last 10 games.

Christian Walker has nine doubles, nine home runs and 27 RBIs while hitting .307 for the Astros. Isaac Paredes is 13 for 35 with two doubles and a home run over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Reds: 2-8, .236 batting average, 7.06 ERA, outscored by 31 runs

Astros: 5-5, .266 batting average, 5.22 ERA, outscored by 11 runs

INJURIES: Reds: Eugenio Suarez: 10-Day IL (oblique), Rhett Lowder: day-to-day (shoulder), Brandon Williamson: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Emilio Pagan: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Caleb Ferguson: 15-Day IL (oblique), Nick Lodolo: 15-Day IL (finger), Hunter Greene: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Astros: Carlos Correa: 10-Day IL (ankle), Yainer Diaz: 10-Day IL (abdominal), Joey Loperfido: 10-Day IL (quadricep), Jake Meyers: 10-Day IL (oblique), Nate Pearson: 15-Day IL (elbow), Taylor Trammell: 10-Day IL (groin), Tatsuya Imai: 15-Day IL (arm), Jeremy Pena: 10-Day IL (knee), Hunter Brown: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Brandon Walter: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ronel Blanco: 60-Day IL (elbow), Josh Hader: 60-Day IL (biceps), Hayden Wesneski: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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