Houston Astros (7-8, fourth in the AL West) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (7-8, fourth in the NL Central)
St. Louis; Monday, 7:45 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Framber Valdez (1-1, 2.50 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 21 strikeouts); Cardinals: Sonny Gray (2-0, 4.50 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 19 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -121, Cardinals +101; over/under is 7 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The St. Louis Cardinals host the Houston Astros on Monday to start a three-game series.
St. Louis is 7-8 overall and 6-3 at home. Cardinals hitters are batting a collective .280, which ranks second in the NL.
Houston has a 7-8 record overall and a 3-3 record in road games. The Astros have the eighth-ranked team ERA in the AL at 3.70.
Monday's game is the first time these teams match up this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Brendan Donovan has two home runs, four walks and 10 RBI while hitting .350 for the Cardinals. Pedro Pages is 10-for-34 with three doubles, a home run and seven RBI over the last 10 games.
Jose Altuve has three home runs while hitting .302 for the Astros. Isaac Paredes is 13-for-42 with three home runs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 4-6, .275 batting average, 5.19 ERA, outscored by six runs
Astros: 5-5, .239 batting average, 4.14 ERA, outscored opponents by eight runs
INJURIES: Cardinals: Masyn Winn: 10-Day IL (back), Ivan Herrera: 10-Day IL (foot), Zack Thompson: 60-Day IL (lat)
Astros: Brendan Rodgers: day-to-day (hip), Spencer Arrighetti: 15-Day IL (thumb), Luis Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (elbow), Shawn Dubin: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Forrest Whitley: 15-Day IL (knee), J.P. France: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Taylor Trammell: 10-Day IL (calf), Kaleb Ort: 15-Day IL (oblique), Pedro Leon: 10-Day IL (knee), Lance McCullers Jr.: 15-Day IL (forearm)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
