Venue:
Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX
AL East Standings:
AL Wild Card Standings:
Probable Pitchers:
Monday, 8 p.m: Marcus Stroman (8-4, 4.92 ERA) vs. Doug Fister (10-7, 3.73)
Tuesday, 8 p.m: R.A. Dickey (7-12, 4.66) vs. Lance McCullers (6-4, 3.18)
Wednesday, 8 p.m: Marco Estrada (6-4, 3.02) vs. Collin McHugh (7-7, 4.75)
Thursday, 8 p.m: J.A. Happ (14-3, 3.16) vs. Mike Fiers (7-4, 4.42)
Need to know:
After a brutal start, the Astros have been one of the best teams in baseball since the beginning of June. But they still trail Texas by six games for the AL West lead and sit 2.5 games back in the wild-card race. . . . . The Astros boast one of the league’s best middle-infield combos in Altuve and sophomore shortstop Carlos Correa. . . . Former Blue Jay Colby Rasmus is chugging along as usual: he has a dozen homers, but has also struck out in nearly 30 per cent of his plate appearances. . . . Centre fielder Carlos Gomez is day-to-day with a hamstring strain, the same injury that landed Astros third baseman, and former Jays farmhand, Luis Valbuena on the disabled list Friday.
