Houston Astros (62-50, first in the AL West) vs. Miami Marlins (55-55, third in the NL East)
Miami; Monday, 6:40 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Jason Alexander (1-1, 7.36 ERA, 1.83 WHIP, 20 strikeouts); Marlins: Sandy Alcantara (6-9, 6.36 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 81 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Marlins -115, Astros -104; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Miami Marlins host the Houston Astros on Monday to begin a three-game series.
Miami has a 27-29 record at home and a 55-55 record overall. The Marlins are 43-19 in games when they record eight or more hits.
Houston has a 62-50 record overall and a 27-26 record in road games. The Astros have the third-best team batting average in MLB play at .256.
The matchup Monday is the first meeting of the season between the two clubs.
TOP PERFORMERS: Agustin Ramirez has 24 doubles, a triple, 17 home runs and 50 RBIs for the Marlins. Kyle Stowers is 11 for 36 with four doubles and three home runs over the past 10 games.
Jose Altuve has 17 doubles, a triple and 18 home runs for the Astros. Yainer Diaz is 10 for 32 with two doubles and two home runs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Marlins: 8-2, .236 batting average, 2.96 ERA, outscored opponents by 15 runs
Astros: 2-8, .228 batting average, 4.91 ERA, outscored by 25 runs
INJURIES: Marlins: Derek Hill: 10-Day IL (finger), Jesus Tinoco: 60-Day IL (forearm), Connor Norby: 10-Day IL (wrist), Max Meyer: 60-Day IL (hip), Ryan Weathers: 60-Day IL (lat), Griffin Conine: 60-Day IL (arm), Andrew Nardi: 60-Day IL (back), Braxton Garrett: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Astros: Brendan Rodgers: 60-Day IL (oblique), Pedro Leon: 60-Day IL (knee), Brandon Walter: 15-Day IL (elbow), Lance McCullers: 15-Day IL (finger), Isaac Paredes: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Jake Meyers: 10-Day IL (calf), Zach Dezenzo: 60-Day IL (hand), Yordan Alvarez: 60-Day IL (hand), Shawn Dubin: 15-Day IL (forearm), Spencer Arrighetti: 60-Day IL (thumb), Ronel Blanco: 60-Day IL (elbow), Hayden Wesneski: 60-Day IL (elbow), Luis Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (elbow), J.P. France: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
