The Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies are all set for a three-game series in Philadelphia. The Astros have announced their lineup against rookie pitcher Andrew Painter for Tuesday’s contest.

Series Probables

Tuesday: Hayden Wesneski, 4-1 3.18 ERA vs. Andrew Painter, 3-8, 5.55 ERA

Wednesday:  Hunter Brown, 5-3, 3.31 ERA vs. Cristopher Sanchez, 16-5, 2.58 ERA

Thursday: TBD vs. Zack Wheeler, 12-5, 3.23 ERA

Tuesday's Pitching Matchup

Hayden Wesneski gets the ball for the Astros in the series opener. He has been the Astros' most consistent pitcher in the last two months, with a 2.91 ERA since the start of August. Wesneski has an impressive 4-1 record but got a no-decision for seven innings of scoreless baseball last Wednesday.

Andrew Painter starts for the Phillies in his first big-league season. His 5.55 ERA doesn’t tell the whole story, as he has a 3.15 ERA and a 3.04 FIP since the beginning of August. He has 91 strikeouts over 105.1 innings this season.  

The Astros Lineup

1. SS Jeremy Pena
2. DH Yordan Alvarez
3. 3B Isaac Paredes
4. 2B Jose Altuve
5. CF Daulton Varsho
6. C Yainer Diaz
7. 1B Christian Walker
8. LF Taylor Trammell
9. RF Cam Smith

Jeremy Pena leads the Astros, who sorely need him to break out of his slump. He is hitting just .158 with a .505 OPS since Aug. 4. Over these 28 games, Pena has a .207 on-base percentage. Before the slump started, Pena had a .320 average and a .901 OPS.

Yordan Alvarez hits his usual second in the lineup. He has been a bit cold for his standard since the beginning of August, with an .873 OPS and just three home runs. He still leads or is tied for the league lead in all the Triple Crown categories, as well as on-base percentage, slugging and OPS.

Isaac Paredes hits third for the Astros. Paredes has an active 14-game on-base streak that was extended on Sunday with a hit-by-pitch. He is getting on-base at a .393 clip over the streak with a .798 OPS.

Jose Altuve hits fourth for Houston. He is one hit shy of 2500 for his career, which would make him the second Astro to reach this milestone (Craig Biggio). He is off to an average September with a .227 average and a .735 OPS. He collected three hits against the Diamondbacks his last time out.

Daulton Varsho hits fifth against Painter.  He is hitting .173 as an Astro with a .542 OPS, going through a difficult stretch with his new team. He went 1-for-10 in the Arizona series.

Yainer Diaz bats sixth for Houston.  Since the Yankee series, Diaz has a .355 batting average over the 10 games he’s appeared in. His OPS is 1.104 over this span.

Christian Walker hits in the seven-hole for Houston. Since his 11-game hitting streak ended on Aug. 9, he is struggling with a .159 average and a .441 OPS over 25 games. He has just four walks and two homers over the stretch.

Taylor Trammell gets the start, per usual, against the right-handed pitcher hitting eighth. His OPS is 250 points higher against righties than lefties. Like most in the Astros lineup, he is not up to his standard since August began, with a .150 average and a .532 OPS.

Cam Smith takes the final position in the batting order. He is hitting .213 for the season. Since the White Sox series, he has a .740 OPS, an upgrade over his season .666 OPS.