Boston Red Sox

Astros visit the Red Sox after Verlander's strong performance

Published May. 17, 2019 3:23 a.m. ET

Houston Astros (29-15, first in the AL West) vs. Boston Red Sox (23-20, third in the AL East)

Boston; Friday, 7 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Gerrit Cole (4-4, 3.88 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 86 strikeouts) Red Sox: Rick Porcello (4-3, 5.15 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 40 strikeouts)

LINE: Astros favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 9 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Red Sox are 12-8 on their home turf. Boston has a collective on-base percentage of .336, good for third in the American League. Rafael Devers leads the team with a mark of .390.

The Astros are 13-11 in road games. Houston leads the American League in hitting with a .282 batting average, Josh Reddick leads the club with an average of .333. This is the first meeting of the season for these two teams.

TOP PERFORMERS: Mitch Moreland leads the Red Sox with 12 home runs and is slugging .574. J.D. Martinez is 11-for-41 with a double, five home runs and 12 RBIs over the last 10 games for Boston.

George Springer leads the Astros with 40 RBIs and is batting .320. Carlos Correa is 13-for-39 with two doubles, a triple, three home runs and seven RBIs over the last 10 games for Houston.

LAST 10 GAMES: Red Sox: 8-2, .285 batting average, 3.03 ERA, outscored opponents by 47 runs

Astros: 9-1, .312 batting average, 3.30 ERA, outscored opponents by 41 runs

Red Sox Injuries: David Price: 10-day IL (elbow), Brian Johnson: 10-day IL (elbow), Nathan Eovaldi: 10-day IL (elbow), Dustin Pedroia: 10-day IL (knee), Tzu-Wei Lin: 10-day IL (knee), Brock Holt: 10-day IL (eye).

Astros Injuries: Joe Smith: 10-day IL (achilles), Lance McCullers Jr.: 10-day IL (elbow), Jose Altuve: 10-day IL (hamstring).