The Houston Astros look to wake up the bats as they take on the Tampa Bay Rays in the middle game of their three-game set.

Pitching Matchup

Peter Lambert goes for the Astros. He is 8-8 with a 3.67 ERA in his best season in the big leagues. He has given up at least two runs in nine consecutive starts as his ERA went from 3.03 to 3.67. Last time out, he threw 7.0 innings with three runs allowed.

Ian Seymour gets the ball for the Rays. Seymour has a 4.33 ERA and a 9-6 record. He threw mostly out of the pen at the beginning of the season but has been a starter for about two months, minus a few long relief outings. In his last appearance, he threw three innings with four runs, three earned.

Astros Lineup

Jeremy Pena returns to the leadoff position after batting in the two-hole on Friday. Pena is on a mini four-game hitting streak. In the 10 games in September, he has a .167 average and a .419 OPS. His strikeout numbers are up for the month as well, with 14 strikeouts to his name.

Isaac Paredes hits in the two-hole in the usual spot of Yordan Alvarez, who remains out for the second straight game. Paredes is in the middle of an 18-game on-base streak. Over those games, Paredes has a .258 average with a .397 on-base percentage. His OPS is .849 over this streak. In September, Paredes has a .960 OPS with nine RBI in just 10 games.

Jose Altuve bats fourth for the Astros. He’s had a small turnaround in his season since the beginning of August, with a .285 average and a .771 OPS. He recently became the second Astro to reach 2500 hits and he now sits 2503.

Yainer Diaz is a hot bat for the Astros with a .367 average and a .920 OPS since the beginning of September. He hits fourth for the Astros on Saturday and plays DH. Diaz has a hit in each of his last six starts for the Astros.

Daulton Varsho, who hits in the five-hole, has struggled since becoming an Astro. He has a .189 average with a .579 OPS in Houston. He has played well on the roadtrip with a .294 average and an .824 OPS.

Christian Walker hits sixth for the Astros after going 0-for-4 in Friday’s contest. He’s recorded 80 RBI this season, the third most on the Astros behind Alvarez and Paredes. Walker has a .529 OPS in September.

Cam Smith hits in the seven-hole for Saturday. Since the last day of August, Smith has been red hot with a .303 average and a 1.083 OPS. Over that span, Smith’s slugging (.714) ranks 10th in baseball. He hit a home run in every game of the Phillies series.

Taylor Trammell gets the rare start against a left-handed pitcher batting eighth. Trammell has a .769 OPS in September with four doubles in his seven hits.

Christian Vazquez bats in the last spot in the order for Houston. Despite his .596 OPS, the Astros are 44-28 in games that Vazquez starts. Since Aug. 23, Vazquez has a .105 average and a .255 OPS.