The San Francisco Giants continued their mastery of the Houston Astros on Tuesday, hacking out an 8-1 win over the current AL West leaders. They will look to stretch their unbeaten run against the Astros to eight games when they square off in the final game of their two-game series later tonight.
Who will emerge victorious in this interleague matchup? Read on below for a breakdown of this much-anticipated game and while you’re at it you can check out our previews of Mets vs. Cubs and Tigers vs. Twins.
[sc:MLBArticles ]
San Francisco Giants vs. Houston Astros Preview
Where: Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas
When: Wednesday, May 13, 8:10 PM ET
Line: San Francisco Giants (+106) at Houston Astros (-116); total: 8.5 – view all MLB lines
Betting on the San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants extended their winning streak to two games with a resounding 8-1 win over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night. Chris Heston was the star of the show for the Giants as he threw his first career complete game.
[sc:MLB240banner ]He allowed just two hits and struck out 10 batters for the Giants who won for the third time in the last four games. Heston has been superb for the Giants this season, allowing two runs or fewer in five of his seven starts. He’s the first Giants rookie to throw a complete game with 10 strikeouts since Roger Mason on October 4, 1985, against the Atlanta Braves.
Starting for the Giants tonight is the struggling Tim Hudson (1-3, 4.50 ERA). He was simply disappointing in his last start against Miami, allowing six runs and a career-high 15 hits over 6.2 innings in a 7-2 loss to the Marlins on Thursday. That’s the most hits allowed by a Giant starter since Gaylord Perry surrendered 16 on September 28, 1968.
To make matters worse for Hudson, he’s also the owner of an abysmal interleague record. He is 9-20 with a 5.64 ERA in 32 interleague starts since joining Atlanta back in 2005. That’s a stark contrast from the interleague success he enjoyed with Oakland in the early part of his career where he went 10-2 with a 2.50 ERA.
The good news for the Giants is that Hudson has a great record against Houston. He’s 5-0 with a 1.24 ERA in seven career starts against the Astros. That’s the lowest mark for Hudson against any opponent in his career.
The Giants are 4-6 in their last 10 road games.
Major League Baseball is finally back! Create a betting account now and cash in on all the exciting baseball action.
Betting on the Houston Astros
Things are going from bad to worse for the Houston Astros as they suffered their fourth consecutive home defeat on Tuesday with an 8-1 humiliation at the hands of the San Francisco Giants. They have now lost six of their last eight games overall, scoring just seven runs in the losses and striking out 34 times in their last three outings.
The main reason behind the Astros’ recent dip in form has been their struggling offense. Jose Altuve, who led the majors in hits last season, is 0 for his last 10. Shortstop Marwin Gonzales is 0 for his last 16 while Evan Gattis is 0 for his last 17. In fact, the entire Astros team was atrocious on Tuesday as Giants starter Chris Heston retired the last 22 Houston batters he faced in the series opener.
With their offense in disarray, the pressure is on Brett Oberholtzer to deliver a good start tonight. This will be the 25-year-old’s season debut after going to the disabled list at the end of spring training because of a blister on his left index finger. Oberholtzer was 5-13 with a 4.39 ERA in 24 starts last year.
The left-hander was in terrific form in his last outing for Triple-A Fresno, throwing 5.1 shutout innings in a 7-3 victory against El Paso on Wednesday. Oberholtzer was 1-1 with 11 strikeouts and allowed seven runs in two rehab assignments with the Triple-A club.
With that being said, the Astros need to wake up from their offensive slumber and put some runs on the board for Oberholtzer. One player who is expected to lead the Houston offense tonight is Colby Rasmus. He is 6 for 14 with two homers and a double off Tim Hudson.
