Astros square off against the Rays with series tied 1-1

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Sunday, July 5, 2026 8:03AM

Tampa Bay Rays (52-34, first in the AL East) vs. Houston Astros (44-47, third in the AL West)

Houston; Sunday, 3:30 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Rays: Griffin Jax (4-5, 3.45 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 58 strikeouts); Astros: Peter Lambert (6-5, 3.51 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 68 strikeouts)

BOTTOM LINE: Both the Houston Astros and the Tampa Bay Rays are looking for a series win with a victory on Sunday.

Houston is 44-47 overall and 22-24 at home. The Astros have a 24-42 record in games when they have given up a home run.

Tampa Bay is 52-34 overall and 21-22 in road games. The Rays are 18-5 in games when they did not allow a home run.

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

TOP PERFORMERS: Yordan Alvarez leads the Astros with 45 extra base hits (16 doubles and 29 home runs). Cam Smith is 7 for 35 with a double, three home runs and four RBI over the past 10 games.

Junior Caminero has 26 home runs, 48 walks and 57 RBI while hitting .291 for the Rays. Chandler Simpson is 14 for 36 with four doubles and an RBI over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 6-4, .222 batting average, 4.60 ERA, outscored by five runs

Rays: 9-1, .293 batting average, 2.43 ERA, outscored opponents by 37 runs

INJURIES: Astros: Raynel Delgado: day-to-day (finger), Bennett Sousa: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kai-Wei Teng: 15-Day IL (knee), Jeremy Pena: 10-Day IL (calf), Braden Shewmake: 10-Day IL (groin), Lance McCullers: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Carlos Correa: 60-Day IL (ankle), Brandon Walter: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ronel Blanco: 60-Day IL (elbow), Hayden Wesneski: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Rays: Chandler Simpson: day-to-day (finger), Jesse Scholtens: 15-Day IL (wrist), Manuel Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Steven Matz: 15-Day IL (ankle), Gavin Lux: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Steven Wilson: 60-Day IL (back), Jon Heasley: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jake Fraley: 10-Day IL (groin), Ryan Pepiot: 60-Day IL (hip), Edwin Uceta: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

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

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