Valdez expected to start as Astros host the Mariners

Updated Aug. 22, 2021 3:20 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Seattle Mariners (66-58, third in the AL West) vs. Houston Astros (73-50, first in the AL West)

Houston; Sunday, 2:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Mariners: Tyler Anderson (6-8, 4.18 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 101 strikeouts) Astros: Framber Valdez (8-4, 3.17 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 86 strikeouts)

LINE: Astros -181, Mariners +155; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Houston and Seattle will face off on Sunday.

The Astros are 39-23 on their home turf. Houston is slugging .444 as a unit. Yordan Alvarez leads the team with a .534 slugging percentage, including 49 extra-base hits and 24 home runs.

The Mariners are 29-33 on the road. Seattle's lineup has 155 home runs this season, Mitch Haniger leads them with 28 homers.

The Astros won the last meeting 15-1. Jake Odorizzi notched his sixth victory and Taylor Jones went 3-for-5 with a double, a triple, a home run and four RBIs for Houston. Logan Gilbert registered his fifth loss for Seattle.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jose Altuve leads the Astros with 25 home runs and has 68 RBIs.

Kyle Seager leads the Mariners with 79 RBIs and is batting .219.

LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 6-4, .298 batting average, 2.79 ERA, outscored opponents by 33 runs

Mariners: 7-3, .217 batting average, 4.80 ERA, outscored by 13 runs

INJURIES: Astros: Justin Verlander: (elbow), Jose Urquidy: (arm), Andre Scrubb: (shoulder), Enoli Paredes: (shoulder), Rafael Montero: (shoulder), Tyler Ivey: (undisclosed), Kent Emanuel: (elbow), Kyle Tucker: (covid-19), Chas McCormick: (hand), Alex Bregman: (hamstring).

Mariners: Justus Sheffield: (undisclosed), James Paxton: (left forearm), Ljay Newsome: (elbow), Andres Munoz: (elbow), Nick Margevicius: (shoulder), Ken Giles: (elbow), Justin Dunn: (shoulder), Diego Castillo: (shoulder), Shed Long Jr.: (shin), Kyle Lewis: (knee), Sam Haggerty: (shoulder), Evan White: (hip).

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