Red Sox play the Astros with 1-0 series lead

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Houston Astros (12-21, fourth in the AL West) vs. Boston Red Sox (13-19, fifth in the AL East)

Boston; Saturday, 4:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Spencer Arrighetti (3-0, 2.00 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 21 strikeouts); Red Sox: Connelly Early (2-1, 2.84 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 28 strikeouts)

LINE: Red Sox -124, Astros +104; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Boston Red Sox lead 1-0 in a three-game series against the Houston Astros.

Boston is 13-19 overall and 6-8 at home. The Red Sox have the eighth-ranked team batting average in the AL at .234.

Houston has a 12-21 record overall and a 4-13 record in road games. The Astros have hit 41 total home runs to rank eighth in the majors.

Saturday's game is the fifth time these teams meet this season. The Astros are ahead 3-1 in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Willson Contreras has three doubles, seven home runs and 20 RBIs while hitting .264 for the Red Sox. Marcelo Mayer is 11 for 28 with three doubles over the past 10 games.

Yordan Alvarez has a .341 batting average to lead the Astros, and has nine doubles and 12 home runs. Christian Walker is 15 for 40 with three home runs and eight RBIs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Red Sox: 4-6, .236 batting average, 3.83 ERA, outscored by one run

Astros: 4-6, .289 batting average, 5.76 ERA, outscored by nine runs

INJURIES: Red Sox: Justin Slaten: 15-Day IL (oblique), Garrett Crochet: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Patrick Sandoval: 15-Day IL (elbow), Kutter Crawford: 15-Day IL (wrist), Triston Casas: 60-Day IL (knee), Sonny Gray: 15-Day IL (leg), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow), Romy Gonzalez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Tanner Houck: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Astros: Nate Pearson: 15-Day IL (elbow), Zach Dezenzo: 10-Day IL (elbow), Taylor Trammell: 10-Day IL (groin), Nick Allen: 10-Day IL (back), Tatsuya Imai: 15-Day IL (arm), Jeremy Pena: 10-Day IL (knee), Hunter Brown: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Brandon Walter: 60-Day IL (elbow), Joey Loperfido: 10-Day IL (quadricep), Ronel Blanco: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jake Meyers: 10-Day IL (oblique), Josh Hader: 60-Day IL (biceps), Hayden Wesneski: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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