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Valdez expected to start as Houston hosts Toronto

Valdez expected to start as Houston hosts Toronto
5 years 5 months 2 weeks ago Saturday, June 15 2019 Jun 15, 2019 June 15, 2019 3:22 AM June 15, 2019 in Sports - AP - Texas

By The Associated Press

Toronto Blue Jays (25-44, fourth in the AL East) vs. Houston Astros (47-23, first in the AL West)

Houston; Saturday, 4 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Blue Jays: Clayton Richard (0-2, 7.04 ERA, 1.76 WHIP, 11 strikeouts) Astros: Framber Valdez (2-2, 2.73 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 28 strikeouts)

LINE: Blue Jays favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Houston and Toronto will square off at Minute Maid Park on Saturday.

The Astros are 26-10 in home games. The Houston offense has compiled a .266 batting average as a team this season, good for second in the majors. Michael Brantley leads the team with an average of .313.

The Blue Jays are 13-22 on the road. The Toronto offense has compiled a .222 batting average as a team this season, last in the league. Freddy Galvis leads the team with a mark of .247. The Astros won the last meeting 15-2. Gerrit Cole earned his sixth victory and Robinson Chirinos went 2-for-5 with a home run and six RBIs for Houston. Aaron Sanchez took his eighth loss for Toronto.

TOP PERFORMERS: Alex Bregman leads the Astros with 47 RBIs and is batting .272. Chirinos is 8-for-34 with a double, five home runs and 14 RBIs over the last 10 games for Houston.

Justin Smoak leads the Blue Jays with 34 RBIs and is batting .225. Teoscar Hernandez is 9-for-33 with four doubles, a home run and three RBIs over the last 10 games for Toronto.

LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 7-3, .230 batting average, 4.28 ERA, outscored opponents by 10 runs

Blue Jays: 4-6, .239 batting average, 6.24 ERA, outscored by 21 runs

Astros Injuries: Joe Smith: 10-day IL (achilles), Collin McHugh: 10-day IL (elbow), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-day IL (elbow), George Springer: 10-day IL (hamstring), Jake Marisnick: day-to-day (knee), Aledmys Diaz: 10-day IL (hamstring), Carlos Correa: 10-day IL (rib), Jose Altuve: 10-day IL (hamstring), Max Stassi: 10-day IL (knee).

Blue Jays Injuries: Jacob Waguespack: 10-day IL (shoulder), Ryan Tepera: 60-day IL (elbow), Matt Shoemaker: 60-day IL (knee), David Phelps: 60-day IL (elbow), Elvis Luciano: 10-day IL (elbow), Ken Giles: 10-day IL (elbow), Clay Buchholz: 60-day IL (shoulder), Ryan Borucki: 60-day IL (elbow), Dalton Pompey: 60-day IL (concussion), Devon Travis: 60-day IL (knee), Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: day-to-day (hand).

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by HERO Sports, and data from Sportradar.

Copyright 2019 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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