Red Sox and Astros play to decide series winner

Houston Astros (24-13, first in the AL West) vs. Boston Red Sox (14-22, fourth in the AL East)

Boston; Wednesday, 6:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Luis Garcia (3-1, 2.94 ERA, .95 WHIP, 37 strikeouts); Red Sox: Nick Pivetta (1-4, 5.08 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 33 strikeouts)

LINE: Astros -145, Red Sox +124; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros meet on Wednesday with the three-game series tied 1-1.

Boston is 14-22 overall and 5-10 in home games. The Red Sox have the 10th-ranked team on-base percentage in the AL at .294.

Houston has a 9-4 record at home and a 24-13 record overall. The Astros have the third-best team slugging percentage in the majors at .421.

The teams square off Wednesday for the third time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Rafael Devers has 14 doubles, seven home runs and 20 RBI for the Red Sox. J.D. Martinez is 16-for-42 with four doubles, two home runs and six RBI over the last 10 games.

Michael Brantley ranks seventh on the Astros with a .286 batting average, and has seven doubles, a triple, three home runs, 13 walks and 15 RBI. Yuli Gurriel is 12-for-32 with three home runs and seven RBI over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Red Sox: 4-6, .261 batting average, 4.04 ERA, even run differential

Astros: 8-2, .265 batting average, 2.76 ERA, outscored opponents by 36 runs

INJURIES: Red Sox: Josh Taylor: 60-Day IL (back), Michael Wacha: 15-Day IL (intercostal), Chris Sale: 60-Day IL (rib), James Paxton: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Astros: Taylor Jones: 60-Day IL (back), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-Day IL (forearm), Jacob Meyers: 10-Day IL (shoulder)

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