The Houston Astros return home to face the Tigers and their ace

When or: Friday at 7:10 p.m., Saturday at 3:10 p.m., Sunday at 1 p.m.; Minute Maid Park.

Radio: 790 AM, 103.3 FM (Spanish), 1010 AM (Spanish).

Pitchers: Friday, RHP Hunter Brown (2-5, 5.58) vs. LHP Tarik Skubal (8-1, 1.92); Saturday, RHP Justin Verlander (3-2, 3.95) vs. RHP Jack Flaherty (3-4, 3.22); Sunday, RHP Spencer Arrighetti (3-5, 5.33) vs. RHP Kenta Maeda (2-2, 5.89).

Astros Update (31-38): After a series loss at San Francisco, Houston is eight games behind Seattle in the American League West and six games out of the final wild card spot. … Yordan Alvarez is a June heavyweight. In 11 games this month, he slashed .395/.469/.907 with five home runs, five doubles, a triple and 13 RBIs. Yordan’s career slash for June is .334/.433/.698. … Alex Bregman’s 14-game hitting streak matches a 2017 streak for the longest of his career. He is 20 for 55 (.364) during the streak, increasing his average from .206 on May 27 to .240 now. … On Wednesday, Bregman scored his 641st point, breaking a tie with Bob Watson for sole possession of ninth place in franchise history. Terry Puhl is eighth with 676. … Verlander is seven outs short of 3,400 for his career.

Tigers update (33-35): After beating Washington 7-2 on Thursday to salvage the finale of a three-game series, Detroit sits in fourth place in the AL Central, 11 games behind Cleveland and 3½ games behind the AL’s No. 3 wild card, Minnesota. … The Tigers lost two of three to the Astros at Comerica Park May 10-12. … Skubal, who beat the Astros on May 11, has 11 quality starts in 13 outings this year. His 0.89 WHIP is second in the majors behind Ranger Suarez’s 0.85 for the Phillies, and his ERA ranks fourth. … Left fielder Riley Greene (.245/.339/.462) leads the Tigers in home runs (12), hits (61), runs (46) and RBIs (30). … Over his last 15 games, third baseman Gio Urshela is hitting .308/.373/.462 with 11 RBIs. …Now in his fourth year as Tigers manager, AJ Hinch is 254-300 with Detroit.