Kikuchi scheduled to start as Seattle hosts Houston

Updated Jul. 28, 2021 3:20 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Houston Astros (62-40, first in the AL West) vs. Seattle Mariners (55-47, third in the AL West)

Seattle; Wednesday, 3:40 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Jake Odorizzi (3-5, 4.23 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 51 strikeouts) Mariners: Yusei Kikuchi (6-5, 3.87 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 117 strikeouts)

LINE: Mariners +108, Astros -125; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Seattle and Houston will square off on Wednesday.

The Mariners are 33-22 on their home turf. The Seattle offense has compiled a .218 batting average as a team this season, Ty France leads the team with a mark of .275.

The Astros have gone 28-20 away from home. Houston is slugging .436 as a unit. Yordan Alvarez leads the team with a slugging percentage of .523.

The Astros won the last meeting 8-6. Lance McCullers Jr. earned his eighth victory and Alvarez went 3-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs for Houston. Chris Flexen took his fifth loss for Seattle.

TOP PERFORMERS: Mitch Haniger leads the Mariners with 25 home runs and is slugging .508.

Yuli Gurriel leads the Astros with 107 hits and has 59 RBIs.

LAST 10 GAMES: Mariners: 6-4, .231 batting average, 5.42 ERA, outscored by two runs

Astros: 6-4, .234 batting average, 4.76 ERA, outscored opponents by one run

INJURIES: Mariners: Justus Sheffield: (undisclosed), James Paxton: (left forearm), Ljay Newsome: (elbow), Andres Munoz: (elbow), Nick Margevicius: (shoulder), Ken Giles: (elbow), Justin Dunn: (shoulder), Kyle Lewis: (knee), Sam Haggerty: (shoulder), Jake Fraley: (illness), Evan White: (hip).

Astros: Justin Verlander: (elbow), Jose Urquidy: (arm), Andre Scrubb: (shoulder), Enoli Paredes: (shoulder), Josh James: (hip), Kent Emanuel: (elbow), Pedro Baez: (right shoulder), Alex Bregman: (hamstring).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.