Houston opens 3-game series at home against Boston

Boston Red Sox (27-23, third in the AL East) vs. Houston Astros (33-18, first in the AL West)

Houston; Friday, 8 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Red Sox: Chris Sale (1-5, 4.31 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 83 strikeouts) Astros: Wade Miley (4-2, 3.52 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 37 strikeouts)

BOTTOM LINE: Houston hosts Boston to begin a three game series.

The Astros are 18-6 on their home turf. Houston has hit 90 combined home runs this season, most in the American League. George Springer leads the team with 17, averaging one every 10.7 at-bats.

The Red Sox are 14-13 in road games. The Boston offense has compiled a .258 batting average as a team this season, good for seventh in the league. Rafael Devers leads the team with an average of .317. This is the first meeting of the season for these two teams.

TOP PERFORMERS: Springer leads the Astros with 17 home runs and is slugging .654. Michael Brantley has 13 hits and is batting .000 over the last 10 games for Houston.

Devers leads the Red Sox with 60 hits and has 29 RBIs. J.D. Martinez is 7-for-23 with a double, four home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games for Boston.

LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 7-3, .268 batting average, 2.53 ERA, outscored opponents by 21 runs

Red Sox: 6-4, .285 batting average, 3.84 ERA, outscored opponents by 14 runs

Astros Injuries: Joe Smith: 10-day IL (achilles), Collin McHugh: 10-day IL (right elbow discomfort), Lance McCullers Jr.: 10-day IL (elbow), George Springer: day-to-day (lower back stiffness), Jose Altuve: 10-day IL (hamstring).

Red Sox Injuries: Tyler Thornburg: 10-day IL (hip), Brian Johnson: 10-day IL (elbow), Nathan Eovaldi: 10-day IL (elbow), Dustin Pedroia: 10-day IL (knee), Tzu-Wei Lin: 10-day IL (knee), Brock Holt: 10-day IL (eye), J.D. Martinez: day-to-day (illness/sore back).