ON DECK: ASTROS VS. TAMPA BAY RAYS

When/where: Friday at 7:10 p.m., Saturday at 6:15 p.m., Sunday at 1:10 p.m.; Minute Maid Park.

TV/radio: ATTSW on Friday and Sunday, Fox on Saturday, ATTSW2 (Spanish) on Sunday; 790 AM, 740 AM, 93.3 FM (Spanish), 1010 AM (Spanish).

Pitchers: Friday, RHP Cristian Javier (7-2, 4.32) vs. LHP Shane McClanahan (11-1, 2.89); Saturday, RHP Hunter Brown (6-7, 4.19) vs. RHP Taj Bradley (5-6, 5.30); Sunday, RHP Brandon Bielak (5-5, 3.62) vs. RHP Tyler Glasnow (3-3, 3.62).

Astros (58-45) update: After climbing to a season-best 14 games over .500 on Tuesday, Houston lost the finale of its series with the Rangers on Wednesday, leaving it two games behind Texas in the American League West. … The Astros beat the Rays twice in three games at Tropicana Field in April, blanking Tampa in both wins. … Chas McCormick (21) and Kyle Tucker (20) rank second and third in the AL for RBIs in July, trailing only Boston’s Justin Turner (23). … Tucker has a 1.249 OPS for the month, which ranks third in the majors. McCormick’s is 1.144. … Shortstop Jeremy Peña is hitting .307 with an .801 OPS against lefthanders this season but just .207 with a .609 OPS against righthanders. … Having gone 0-for-3 after being activated off the injured list Wednesday, Jose Altuve stands 33 hits shy of 2,000 for his career and two home runs shy of 200.

Rays (62-43) update: Tampa Bay, whose 13-0 start matched the best in MLB history, entered July with the majors’ best record (57-28, .671) but is 5-15 (.250) since, giving it the third-best record behind Atlanta (64-36) and Baltimore (62-40). The Rays are a game and a half behind the Orioles in the AL East and lead the wild-card race by three games over the Astros. … According to Elias, the lowest July winning percentage for a team that entered the month leading its league (AL or NL) belongs to the 1995 Phillies, who, in a strike-shortened season, went 9-20 (.310) after entering the month at 38-21 (.644). … Yandy Diaz, who leads all AL first basemen in batting, on-base percentage and slugging (.318/.401/.508) has reached base in his last 13 consecutive games, hitting .347 with 10 RBIs in that span. … On the flip side, All-Star outfielder Randy Arozarena is hitting .171 (13-for-76) in July with five RBIs, 23 strikeouts and four walks. … Shortstop Wander Franco has experienced similar struggles, hitting .162 (12-for-74) this month with 18 strikeouts and seven walks.