By The Associated Press

Pittsburgh Pirates (36-41, fifth in the NL Central) vs. Houston Astros (50-30, first in the NL West)

Houston; Wednesday, 8 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Dario Agrazal (0-0, 4.50 ERA, PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Dario Agrazal (0-0, 4.50 ERA, BOTTOM LINE: Kevin Newman is riding a 13-game hitting streak as Pittsburgh readies to play Houston.

The Astros are 28-11 in home games. Houston ranks second in the league in hitting with a .267 batting average, Michael Brantley leads the club with an average of .318.

The Pirates are 19-22 on the road. Pittsburgh ranks seventh in the league in hitting with a .263 batting average, Bryan Reynolds leads the club with an average of .367. The Astros won the last meeting 5-1. Gerrit Cole earned his seventh victory and Alex Bregman went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and an RBI for Houston. Trevor Williams registered his second loss for Pittsburgh.

TOP PERFORMERS: Bregman leads the Astros with 33 extra base hits and is batting .266. Yordan Alvarez is 12-for-39 with three doubles, four home runs and 10 RBIs over the last 10 games for Houston.

Josh Bell leads the Pirates with 20 home runs and has 66 RBIs. Reynolds is 17-for-35 with four doubles, a home run and seven RBIs over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.

LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 3-7, .274 batting average, 5.10 ERA, outscored by 10 runs

Pirates: 6-4, .301 batting average, 4.25 ERA, outscored opponents by 11 runs

Astros Injuries: Joe Smith: 10-day IL (achilles), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-day IL (elbow), Aledmys Diaz: 10-day IL (hamstring), Carlos Correa: 10-day IL (rib).

Pirates Injuries: Jameson Taillon: 60-day IL (elbow), Edgar Santana: 60-day IL (elbow), Jordan Lyles: 10-day IL (hamstring), Chad Kuhl: 60-day IL (elbow), Keone Kela: 60-day IL (shoulder), Rookie Davis: 10-day IL (finger), Nick Burdi: 60-day IL (biceps), Gregory Polanco: 10-day IL (shoulder), Lonnie Chisenhall: 60-day IL (finger), Erik Gonzalez: 60-day IL (collarbone), Francisco Cervelli: 10-day IL (concussion).

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

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