McCullers Jr. expected to start for the Astros against Angels

Houston Astros (91-61, first in the AL West) vs. Los Angeles Angels (72-80, fourth in the AL West)

Anaheim, California; Thursday, 9:38 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Lance McCullers Jr. (12-4, 3.11 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 176 strikeouts) Angels: Alex Cobb (8-3, 3.59 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 89 strikeouts)

LINE: Angels +146, Astros -170; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Los Angeles and Houston will face off on Thursday.

The Angels are 38-40 on their home turf. Los Angeles is averaging 4.2 RBI per game this season. Shohei Ohtani leads the team with 95 total runs batted in.

The Astros are 44-33 in road games. Houston has slugged .446 this season. Kyle Tucker leads the club with a .556 slugging percentage, including 66 extra-base hits and 27 home runs.

The Astros won the last meeting 9-5. Yimi Garcia notched his fourth victory and Yordan Alvarez went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBI for Houston. Sam Selman took his first loss for Los Angeles.

TOP PERFORMERS: Ohtani leads the Angels with 45 home runs and has 95 RBI.

Jose Altuve ranks second on the Astros with 29 home runs and is batting .275.

LAST 10 GAMES: Angels: 2-8, .212 batting average, 5.19 ERA, outscored by 24 runs

Astros: 8-2, .299 batting average, 3.16 ERA, outscored opponents by 42 runs

INJURIES: Angels: Patrick Sandoval: (spine), Jose Marte: (hamstring), Reid Detmers: (health protocols), Dylan Bundy: (shoulder), Luke Bard: (hip), Justin Upton: (lumbar), Mike Trout: (calf), Dexter Fowler: (knee), Jo Adell: (back), Anthony Rendon: (hip), Franklin Barreto: (right elbow).

Astros: Justin Verlander: (elbow), Andre Scrubb: (shoulder), Jake Odorizzi: (foot), Rafael Montero: (shoulder), Tyler Ivey: (undisclosed), Kent Emanuel: (elbow), Pedro Baez: (shoulder), Michael Brantley: (knee), Yordan Alvarez: (soreness), Freudis Nova: (knee), Taylor Jones: (covid-19).

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