Astros visit Boston, aim to build on Valdez's solid showing

Houston Astros (34-26, second in the AL West) vs. Boston Red Sox (37-24, second in the AL East)

Boston; Wednesday, 7:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Jake Odorizzi (0-3, 7.16 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 17 strikeouts) Red Sox: Nathan Eovaldi (7-2, 3.65 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 65 strikeouts)

LINE: Red Sox -136, Astros +117; over/under is 10 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Houston heads into the matchup after a dominant performance by Framber Valdez. Valdez threw 7 1/3 innings, giving up one run on five hits with eight strikeouts against Boston.

The Red Sox are 17-14 in home games in 2020. The Boston offense has compiled a .256 batting average as a team this season, good for third in the American League. Xander Bogaerts leads the team with an average of .321.

The Astros are 14-13 on the road. Houston's team on-base percentage of .336 is second in the American League. Yuli Gurriel leads the club with an OBP of .403.

The Astros won the last meeting 7-1. Framber Valdez earned his second victory and Carlos Correa went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and two RBI for Houston. Martin Perez took his third loss for Boston.

TOP PERFORMERS: Rafael Devers leads the Red Sox with 15 home runs and is batting .271.

Correa leads the Astros with 25 extra base hits and 34 RBI.

LAST 10 GAMES: Red Sox: 6-4, .240 batting average, 3.68 ERA, outscored by four runs

Astros: 7-3, .277 batting average, 3.13 ERA, outscored opponents by 27 runs

INJURIES: Red Sox: Chris Sale: (elbow), Ryan Brasier: (left calf), Kevin Plawecki: (jaw).

Astros: Justin Verlander: (elbow), Austin Pruitt: (elbow), Lance McCullers Jr.: (shoulder), Josh James: (hip), Kent Emanuel: (elbow), Pedro Baez: (right shoulder), Bryan Abreu: (calf), Aledmys Diaz: (hand), Jason Castro: (achilles).

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