Pirates and Astros meet, winner secures 3-game series

Houston Astros (33-28, first in the AL West) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (23-39, fifth in the NL Central)

Pittsburgh; Thursday, 6:40 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Framber Valdez (5-4, 3.12 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 73 strikeouts); Pirates: Mitch Keller (1-7, 3.73 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 56 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -161, Pirates +136; over/under is 7 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros play on Thursday with the three-game series tied 1-1.

Pittsburgh is 23-39 overall and 14-17 at home. The Pirates are 9-3 in games when they scored at least five runs.

Houston has an 11-16 record in road games and a 33-28 record overall. The Astros have the seventh-ranked team on-base percentage in the AL at .317.

Thursday's game is the third time these teams match up this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Oneil Cruz leads the Pirates with 12 home runs while slugging .474. Bryan Reynolds is 14 for 39 with two doubles, a triple, a home run and nine RBIs over the last 10 games.

Jeremy Pena has 10 doubles, a triple and nine home runs for the Astros. Jose Altuve is 12 for 37 with three home runs and four RBIs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 5-5, .257 batting average, 3.00 ERA, outscored opponents by nine runs

Astros: 7-3, .257 batting average, 4.15 ERA, outscored by six runs

INJURIES: Pirates: Joey Bart: 7-Day IL (concussion), Colin Holderman: 15-Day IL (thumb), Enmanuel Valdez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Justin Lawrence: 60-Day IL (elbow), Tim Mayza: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jared Jones: 60-Day IL (elbow), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow), Dauri Moreta: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Astros: Chas McCormick: 10-Day IL (oblique), Ronel Blanco: 60-Day IL (elbow), Zach Dezenzo: 10-Day IL (hand), Hayden Wesneski: 60-Day IL (elbow), Yordan Alvarez: 10-Day IL (hand), Spencer Arrighetti: 15-Day IL (thumb), Luis Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (elbow), J.P. France: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Taylor Trammell: 10-Day IL (calf), Pedro Leon: 10-Day IL (knee)

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