Red Sox and Astros meet to determine series winner

Houston Astros (13-21, fourth in the AL West) vs. Boston Red Sox (13-20, fifth in the AL East)

Boston; Sunday, 1:35 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Cody Bolton (0-1, 5.79 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, 11 strikeouts); Red Sox: Ranger Suarez (2-2, 3.09 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 29 strikeouts)

LINE: Red Sox -161, Astros +136; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Both the Boston Red Sox and the Houston Astros are looking for a series win with a victory on Sunday.

Boston is 13-20 overall and 6-9 at home. Red Sox pitchers have a collective 4.30 ERA, which ranks ninth in the AL.

Houston has a 5-13 record on the road and a 13-21 record overall. The Astros have the third-best team batting average in MLB play at .269.

The matchup Sunday is the sixth time these teams square off this season. The Astros have a 4-1 advantage in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Wilyer Abreu has six doubles, a triple, four home runs and 14 RBIs for the Red Sox. Willson Contreras is 9 for 37 with a double, three home runs and nine RBIs over the last 10 games.

Yordan Alvarez leads the Astros with 21 extra base hits (nine doubles and 12 home runs). Christian Walker is 15 for 39 with two doubles, three home runs and eight RBIs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Red Sox: 4-6, .246 batting average, 4.03 ERA, even run differential

Astros: 4-6, .287 batting average, 5.86 ERA, outscored by 13 runs

INJURIES: Red Sox: Justin Slaten: 15-Day IL (oblique), Garrett Crochet: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Patrick Sandoval: 15-Day IL (elbow), Kutter Crawford: 15-Day IL (wrist), Triston Casas: 60-Day IL (knee), Sonny Gray: 15-Day IL (leg), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow), Romy Gonzalez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Tanner Houck: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Astros: Christian Walker: day-to-day (head), Nate Pearson: 15-Day IL (elbow), Zach Dezenzo: 10-Day IL (elbow), Taylor Trammell: 10-Day IL (groin), Nick Allen: 10-Day IL (back), 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), Joey Loperfido: 10-Day IL (quadricep), Ronel Blanco: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jake Meyers: 10-Day IL (oblique), Josh Hader: 60-Day IL (biceps), Hayden Wesneski: 60-Day IL (elbow)

___

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