Astros bring 2-1 series lead over Guardians into game 4

Houston Astros (70-39, first in the AL West) vs. Cleveland Guardians (55-52, second in the AL Central)

Cleveland; Sunday, 12:05 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Cristian Javier (6-7, 3.24 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 128 strikeouts); Guardians: Triston McKenzie (7-8, 3.38 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 113 strikeouts)

LINE: Astros -144, Guardians +123; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros take a 2-1 lead into the next game of the series against the Cleveland Guardians.

Cleveland is 55-52 overall and 28-22 in home games. Guardians hitters are batting a collective .251, which ranks fourth in the AL.

Houston has a 36-22 record on the road and a 70-39 record overall. The Astros have hit 151 total home runs to rank second in the AL.

The teams meet Sunday for the seventh time this season. The Astros lead the season series 4-2.

TOP PERFORMERS: Amed Rosario has 19 doubles, six triples, seven home runs and 44 RBI while hitting .288 for the Guardians. Steven Kwan is 11-for-36 with two doubles over the past 10 games.

Yordan Alvarez has 15 doubles, two triples and 30 home runs for the Astros. Jose Altuve is 15-for-40 with six doubles and two RBI over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Guardians: 5-5, .231 batting average, 4.30 ERA, outscored by seven runs

Astros: 6-4, .268 batting average, 2.30 ERA, outscored opponents by 24 runs

INJURIES: Guardians: Steven Kwan: day-to-day (foot), Anthony Gose: 60-Day IL (tricep), Aaron Civale: 15-Day IL (wrist), Cody Morris: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

Astros: Kyle Tucker: day-to-day (undisclosed), 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)

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