Seattle opens 3-game series at Houston

Seattle Mariners (37-48, fifth in the AL West) vs. Houston Astros (50-32, first in the AL West)

Houston; Friday, 8 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Mariners: TBD Astros: Wade Miley (6-4, 3.51 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 78 strikeouts)

BOTTOM LINE: Houston and Seattle meet to begin a three-game series.

The Astros are 21-6 against AL West opponents. The Houston pitching staff owns a team ERA of 3.89, Justin Verlander leads the staff with a mark of 2.75.

The Mariners are 20-23 on the road. Seattle has hit 145 home runs this season, second in the American League. Daniel Vogelbach leads the team with 19, averaging one every 12.9 at-bats.

TOP PERFORMERS: Alex Bregman leads the Astros with 34 extra base hits and is batting .264. Yordan Alvarez is 9-for-36 with three doubles, three home runs and 10 RBIs over the last 10 games for Houston.

Domingo Santana leads the Mariners with 60 RBIs and is batting .279. Mac Williamson is 8-for-28 with two home runs and five RBIs over the last 10 games for Seattle.

LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 2-8, .267 batting average, 6.17 ERA, outscored by 25 runs

Mariners: 6-4, .270 batting average, 4.65 ERA, outscored opponents by 10 runs

Astros Injuries: Joe Smith: 60-day IL (achilles), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-day IL (elbow), Yordan Alvarez: day-to-day (knee), Aledmys Diaz: 10-day IL (hamstring), Carlos Correa: 10-day IL (rib).

Mariners Injuries: Arodys Vizcaino: 60-day IL (shoulder), Sam Tuivailala: 60-day IL (achilles/shoulder), Hunter Strickland: 60-day IL (lat), Connor Sadzeck: 10-day IL (elbow), Felix Hernandez: 10-day IL (shoulder), Brandon Brennan: 10-day IL (shoulder), Chasen Bradford: 60-day IL (forearm), Mitch Haniger: 10-day IL (testicle), Braden Bishop: 10-day IL (neck), Kyle Seager: day-to-day (hand), Ryon Healy: 10-day IL (back).