Rays face the Astros with 1-0 series lead

Houston Astros (75-73, first in the AL West) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (88-59, first in the AL East)

St. Petersburg, Florida; Saturday, 6:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Peter Lambert (8-8, 3.67 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 137 strikeouts); Rays: Ian Seymour (9-6, 4.33 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 140 strikeouts)

LINE: Rays -146, Astros +120; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Rays lead 1-0 in a three-game series against the Houston Astros.

Tampa Bay has gone 48-25 at home and 88-59 overall. The Rays have the fifth-ranked team slugging percentage in the AL at .404.

Houston has a 38-35 record on the road and a 75-73 record overall. The Astros have a 39-65 record in games when they have allowed a home run.

The teams meet Saturday for the fifth time this season. The season series is tied 2-2.

TOP PERFORMERS: Junior Caminero has 21 doubles, a triple, 40 home runs and 95 RBIs for the Rays. Richie Palacios is 7 for 31 with four home runs and six RBIs over the past 10 games.

Yordan Alvarez leads the Astros with 38 home runs while slugging .590. Cam Smith is 9 for 31 with three home runs and four RBIs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Rays: 6-4, .256 batting average, 3.78 ERA, outscored opponents by five runs

Astros: 5-5, .242 batting average, 3.23 ERA, outscored by two runs

INJURIES: Rays: Jake Fraley: 60-Day IL (groin), Jon Heasley: 60-Day IL (elbow), Edwin Uceta: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Taylor Walls: 10-Day IL (hip), Garrett Cleavinger: 15-Day IL (forearm), Manuel Rodriguez: 15-Day IL (back), Shane McClanahan: 15-Day IL (forearm), Ben Williamson: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Gavin Lux: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Ryan Pepiot: 60-Day IL (hip)

Astros: Yordan Alvarez: day-to-day (ankle), Mike Burrows: 60-Day IL (elbow), Steven Okert: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Brice Matthews: 60-Day IL (knee), Carlos Correa: 60-Day IL (ankle), Brandon Walter: 60-Day IL (elbow)

___

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