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.

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.