Athletics head into matchup with the Astros on losing streak

Oakland Athletics (41-72, fifth in the AL West) vs. Houston Astros (73-41, first in the AL West)

Houston; Saturday, 7:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Zach Logue (0-0); Astros: Lance McCullers Jr. (0-0)

LINE: Astros -285, Athletics +228; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Oakland Athletics head into the matchup against the Houston Astros as losers of six in a row.

Houston is 73-41 overall and 37-18 at home. The Astros have the top team ERA in the AL at 3.05.

Oakland is 41-72 overall and 24-33 in road games. The Athletics are 14-9 in games when they hit two or more home runs.

The teams match up Saturday for the 14th time this season. The Astros lead the season series 7-6.

TOP PERFORMERS: Yordan Alvarez has a .296 batting average to lead the Astros, and has 15 doubles, two triples and 31 home runs. Jose Altuve is 14-for-38 with two RBI over the past 10 games.

Sean Murphy has 26 doubles, a triple and 13 home runs for the Athletics. Ramon Laureano is 10-for-41 with three doubles, two home runs and seven RBI over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 6-4, .267 batting average, 3.13 ERA, outscored opponents by 16 runs

Athletics: 2-8, .220 batting average, 4.20 ERA, outscored by 16 runs

INJURIES: Astros: Jason Castro: 60-Day IL (knee), Blake Taylor: 60-Day IL (elbow), Michael Brantley: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Josh James: 60-Day IL (lat), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-Day IL (forearm)

Athletics: Paul Blackburn: 15-Day IL (finger), Daulton Jefferies: 60-Day IL (arm), Deolis Guerra: 60-Day IL (elbow), Brent Honeywell Jr.: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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