Red Sox @ Astros

Who will WIN this matchup?

Boston Red Sox (27-25)

@ Houston Astros (35-18)

Starting Pitchers:

Rodriguez (BOS): 4-3; 5.43 ERA

Verlander (HOU) 8-1; 2.24 ERA

Last 10 Games Played:

Boston Red Sox: 5-5

Houston Astros: 7-3

Current odds:

Boston Red Sox: (+155)

Houston Astros: (-170)

• Justin Verlander is 36 but acts and plays much younger as he takes the ball when the Houston Astros try for a three-game sweep of the visiting Boston Red Sox on Sunday. Verlander, who flirted with his third career no-hitter in his last start, is signed through 2021 but wants to pitch well into his 40s. “I can’t see stopping. I enjoy playing,” Verlander, who has eight of his 212 career victories this season, told reporters. “I enjoy coming to the park every day, all that. None of that’s changed. But really, what it comes down to is just the competitiveness, the sheer will to go out and be my best.” Houston prevailed 4-3 on Saturday on a walk-off single by Carlos Correa and played without George Springer (17 home runs, 43 RBIs – both American League highs), who suffered a hamstring injury Friday and was placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday. The Astros are 17-4 in their last 21 games, including a 2-1 series win at Boston last weekend, and are a major league-best 20-6 at home.

• The Red Sox, who send a struggling Eduardo Rodriguez to the mound Sunday, have lost two in a row at Minute Maid Park after winning five straight – including three in the 2018 AL Championship Series.

• Rodriguez allowed six runs and six hits (season-high three home runs) in five innings of a 10-3 loss at Toronto on Tuesday. The 26-year-old Venezuelan escaped with a no-decision in Boston’s 6-5 victory over Colorado on May 15, yielding five runs with a season-high 10 strikeouts in six frames after going 3-0 with a 2.28 ERA in his previous four starts. Houston’s Alex Bregman is 2-for-4 with two homers and Carlos Correa is 4-for-5 with two walks versus Rodriguez, who is 0-2 with a 9.90 ERA in three career starts against the Astros.

• Verlander permitted only a home run to Jose Abreu while walking one and striking out a season-high 12 in eight innings of Tuesday’s 5-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox. The Virginia native, who needs nine strikeouts to pass Cy Young and move into 21st on the all-time list, has recorded nine quality starts in his 11 turns and has allowed 36 hits in 72 1/3 frames this season. Boston’s Mookie Betts is 0-for-13 versus Verlander, who is 5-5 with a 2.89 ERA in 18 regular-season starts against the Red Sox but lost to them in the deciding Game 5 of the ALCS.

• Boston 3B Rafael Devers (.326) went 3-for-4 on Saturday and is 11-for-23 with three home runs and seven RBIs in his last five games.

• Astros RHP Roberto Osuna was 13-for-13 in save opportunities this season and recorded one in 28 straight games, including a franchise-record 25 in a row, before allowing two runs in the ninth inning Saturday.

• Boston INF/OF Brock Holt (shoulder, cornea) could be activated as soon as Sunday and play for the first time since April 5.