Astros' Justin Verlander and Alex Bregman return for finale against Red Sox
BACK IN THE SADDLE
21 August 2024
Justin Verlander is finally back on the hill for Houston. Composite Getty Image.
Boston Red Sox (66-59, third in the AL East) vs. Houston Astros (68-57, first in the AL West)
Houston; Wednesday, 2:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Red Sox: Cooper Criswell (5-4, 4.56 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 57 strikeouts); Astros: Justin Verlander (0-0)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Astros -111, Red Sox -109; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Boston Red Sox take on the Houston Astros after Jarren Duran had four hits on Tuesday in a 6-5 win over the Astros.
Houston has a 35-28 record at home and a 68-57 record overall. The Astros have gone 53-29 in games when they record eight or more hits.
Boston is 66-59 overall and 37-27 on the road. The Red Sox rank fifth in MLB play with 159 total home runs, averaging 1.3 per game.
The matchup Wednesday is the sixth time these teams match up this season. The Astros hold a 4-1 advantage in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Yordan Alvarez leads Houston with 25 home runs while slugging .552. Alex Bregman is 16-for-45 with five home runs and eight RBI over the last 10 games.
Duran has 38 doubles, 13 triples and 17 home runs for the Red Sox. Masataka Yoshida is 13-for-32 with two doubles, two home runs and seven RBI over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 8-2, .263 batting average, 2.27 ERA, outscored opponents by 22 runs
Red Sox: 5-5, .266 batting average, 5.35 ERA, outscored by four runs
Today's lineup has Bregman returning as the DH and Jose Altuve getting the day off.
The Astros against Cooper Criswell: Bregman DH, Alvarez 7, Diaz 3, Peña 6, Caratini 2, Meyers 8, Dubón 4, Whitcomb 5, McCormick 9
Verlander RHP
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) August 21, 2024
INJURIES: Astros: J.P. France: 60-Day IL (undisclosed), Ryan Pressly: 15-Day IL (back), Alex Bregman: day-to-day (elbow), Kyle Tucker: 60-Day IL (shin), Justin Verlander: 15-Day IL (neck), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (forearm), Jose Urquidy: 60-Day IL (forearm), Oliver Ortega: 60-Day IL (elbow), Bennett Sousa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Penn Murfee: 60-Day IL (elbow), Luis Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kendall Graveman: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Red Sox: Cam Booser: 15-Day IL (elbow), James Paxton: 15-Day IL (leg), Bryan Mata: 60-Day IL (hamstring), Justin Slaten: 15-Day IL (elbow), Garrett Whitlock: 60-Day IL (oblique), Trevor Story: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Liam Hendriks: 60-Day IL (elbow), Chris Murphy: 60-Day IL (elbow), Lucas Giolito: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Luis Robert Jr. homered, Shane Smith pitched six effective innings and the Chicago White Sox beat the Houston Astros 4-2 on Tuesday night.
Edgar Quero had two RBIs as last-place Chicago won for the fourth time in five games.
Robert hit a run-scoring double in the second and his sixth homer in the fourth, a solo drive to left-center off Lance McCullers Jr. (1-2). He also made a sliding catch on Jake Meyers' liner to center in the eighth, stranding runners on the corners.
Smith (3-3) allowed one run and seven hits in his second straight win.
Grant Taylor, one of Chicago's top prospects, worked a 1-2-3 seventh in his major league debut. He hit 101.5 mph on his first pitch, a ball to Victor Caratini.
Brandon Eisert handled the ninth for his second save.
Isaac Paredes and Yainer Diaz each hit a sacrifice fly for Houston in the opener of a six-game homestand. McCullers permitted four runs and four hits in five innings.
Chicago scored two runs in the third to open a 3-0 lead. With two out and the bases loaded, Quero hit a two-run single to left.
Key moment
Meyers and Caratini hit back-to-back singles in the fourth, but Shane Smith got Cam Smith to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Key stat
Smith has won back-to-back starts for the first time in his career. The 25-year-old right-hander went into the game leading all MLB rookies with a 2.45 ERA.
Up next
Sean Burke (3-6, 4.03 ERA) is expected to pitch Wednesday for the White Sox against Ryan Gusto (3-3, 4.78 ERA) in the second of a three-game series.
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