Astros bring 1-0 series advantage over Rangers into game 2

Texas Rangers (48-61, third in the AL West) vs. Houston Astros (71-40, first in the AL West)

Houston; Wednesday, 8:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Rangers: Glenn Otto (4-8, 5.31 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 64 strikeouts); Astros: Justin Verlander (15-3, 1.73 ERA, .85 WHIP, 127 strikeouts)

LINE: Astros -338, Rangers +264; over/under is 7 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros face the Texas Rangers with a 1-0 series lead.

Houston is 35-17 at home and 71-40 overall. Astros pitchers have a collective 2.99 ERA, which leads the AL.

Texas has gone 25-30 in road games and 48-61 overall. The Rangers have gone 5-24 in games decided by one run.

Wednesday's game is the 13th time these teams match up this season. The Astros are up 9-3 in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Yordan Alvarez has 30 home runs, 58 walks and 73 RBI while hitting .297 for the Astros. Jose Altuve is 16-for-38 with six doubles and three RBI over the last 10 games.

Corey Seager has 13 doubles, a triple, 25 home runs and 57 RBI for the Rangers. Marcus Semien is 11-for-41 with three home runs and seven RBI over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 5-5, .241 batting average, 2.63 ERA, outscored opponents by 13 runs

Rangers: 3-7, .224 batting average, 4.81 ERA, outscored by 13 runs

INJURIES: Astros: Jason Castro: 60-Day IL (knee), Blake Taylor: 60-Day IL (elbow), Michael Brantley: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Josh James: 60-Day IL (lat), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-Day IL (forearm)

Rangers: Dennis Santana: 15-Day IL (ankle), Kole Calhoun: 10-Day IL (heel), Jon Gray: 15-Day IL (side), Joe Barlow: 15-Day IL (blister), Mitch Garver: 60-Day IL (forearm), Eli White: 60-Day IL (wrist)

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