(Photo credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images)

American League division leaders meet up for what could turn into a preview of a playoff series, as Houston visits Detroit for a three-game series that begins Monday.

The Astros hold a slim lead in the West, while the Tigers are in control of the Central. Detroit eliminated Houston during the wild-card round last season.

Spencer Arrighetti (1-3, 6.38 ERA) will start the series opener for the Astros. Arrighetti will be making his third start since recovering from a broken thumb, an injury that sidelined him for about four months.

Arrighetti's return to action didn't go well. He surrendered five runs and 11 hits to host Miami in 3 2/3 innings on Aug. 6. The right-hander lasted five innings against Boston last Tuesday but was hampered by control issues. He gave up just one hit but walked five while allowing two runs.

'It kind of felt like a step forward and a step back in a way,' Arrighetti said. 'I was really competitive in the zone in Miami and I gave up a lot of hits there. I was less competitive in the zone (Tuesday) and I walked more people than I would ever care to again. So results-wise, I would say it was a step in the right direction and that's encouraging. But at the same time, I've just got to command it a little better.'

Manager Joe Espada saw some good things in Arrighetti's latest outing.

'He pitched out of trouble, which was encouraging to see,' Espada said. 'For me, it's just more the command, the high pitch count because of the walks. But besides that his stuff is pretty good. His breaking ball was much better (on Tuesday). I thought his fastball played really good. Just got to pitch ahead in the count more and get some quicker outs.'

Right-hander Jack Flaherty (6-12, 4.76), the Tigers' starter, will look to bounce back from two subpar outings. He gave up six runs (five earned) and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings in a 9-4 home loss against Minnesota on Aug. 6. Flaherty allowed five runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings in a 9-6 loss to the host Chicago White Sox on Tuesday.

All of the runs came in the fifth inning.

'Kind of freaking hard at this point to chalk (it) up to bad luck,' Flaherty said. 'Call it what you want, but you execute pitches and balls fall in. You can say (it) is bad luck, but it's frustrating at this point.'

The Tigers continue to anticipate Flaherty will deliver quality performances down the stretch.

'Any given time that we put him out there, we know he can help us win,' Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said. 'We know he's got the ability to dominate and the stuff to match, and we expect him to go out and do it.'

Arrighetti faced the Tigers once last year and was shelled for seven runs in 1 1/3 innings. Flaherty is 1-3 with a 3.64 ERA in 29 2/3 innings over six career outings (five starts) against the Astros.

Both teams will be looking to shake off lopsided losses. Houston was clobbered by visiting Baltimore 12-0 on Sunday while Detroit was thumped 8-1 at Minnesota.

--Field Level Media