Tigers face Astros in first of three-game series

Houston Astros (13-24, fifth in AL West) vs. Detroit Tigers (19-18, fourth in AL Central)

Detroit; Friday, 6:40 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABIES: Astros: Framber Valdez (1-1, 3.97 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 19 strikeouts); Tigers: Casey Mize (1-1, 3.98 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 24 strikeouts)

: LINE Astros -136, Tigers +115; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Detroit Tigers host the Houston Astros to open a three-game series.

Detroit is 19-18 overall and 8-9 at home. The Tigers are 8-1 in games when they hit two or more home runs.

Houston is 6-12 on the road and 13-24 overall. The Astros hit 44 home runs overall to rank fourth in the AL.

Friday’s game is the first time these teams have met this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Riley Greene leads the Tigers with nine homers while hitting .515. Wenceel Perez is 11 for 36 with three homers and five RBIs over the last 10 games.

Kyle Tucker leads Houston with 11 home runs while hitting .558. Jon Singleton is 7-for-32 with four homers and 10 RBIs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Tigers: 4-6, .248 batting average, 3.49 ERA, opponents outscored by six runs

Astros: 5-5, .237 batting average, 4.90 ERA, led by three runs

INJURIES: Tigers: Mark Canha: Everyday (illness), Gio Urshela: 10-day IL (hamstring), Sawyer Gipson-Long: 60-day IL (groin)

Astros: Chas McCormick: 10-day IL (hamstring), Grae Kessinger: 10-day IL (shoulder), Cristian Javier: 15-day IL (neck), Oliver Ortega: 60-day IL (elbow), Bennett Sousa : 60 -Day IL (shoulder), Penn Murfee: 60 days IL (elbow), Luis Garcia: 60 days IL (elbow), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60 days IL (elbow), Jose Urquidy: 15 days IL (fore- arm), Kendall Graveman: 60-day IL (elbow)

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