Cristian Javier (1-1, 3.38) makes his third start in return from Tommy John surgery as the Houston Astros go for a third win in a row against the Baltimore Orioles. Javier's second start was cut short by illness. Dean Kremer (9-9, 3.97) starts for Baltimore.

This affiliate content is not influenced by our advertising relationships, but AP and Data Skrive might earn commissions from our partners’ links in this content.

Jeremy Peña and Christian Walker each hit a three-run homer, and the Houston Astros outslugged the Baltimore Orioles 10-7 on Friday night. Colton Cowser went deep for Baltimore, but the Orioles couldn't pull this game out despite twice cutting a four-run deficit to one.

The bats bailed out the pitching staff for a nice change of pace. For the first half of the season, the Astros’ best attribute was their run prevention capabilities. Only the Rangers (290) allowed fewer earned runs than Houston (308) through July 6 when the latter swept the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

Christian Walker and Yainer Diaz homered, Jesús Sánchez ended a lengthy slump with five hits and the Houston Astros beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-2 to snap a four-game losing streak