Baltimore Orioles vs. Houston Astros Preview
Where: Minute Maid Park – Houston, TX
When: Friday, May 26, 2017 – 8:10 PM ET
Line: Baltimore Orioles (+128) vs. Houston Astros (-138) – total: 9.0 – view all MLB lines
TV Broadcast:
Betting on the Baltimore Orioles (25-20)
The Orioles are a hot mess right now. Wednesday’s 4-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins was their fourth in a row and 10th in their last 13. They are still sitting at second in the American League-East, but it’s a tight division that could definitely get them left behind in no time.
Among the many problems is defense. Over that 13-game span, they have allowed opponents to record 10 or more hits eight times, including 21 to the Twins on Monday and 18 to the Detroit Tigers last May 16th, who are ranked 28th in the league in hits.
Kevin Gausman is drawing the start for Friday. The fourth-year pitcher is only 2-3 with a 6.65 ERA in 10 starts this season, and thus, shouldn’t be expected to suddenly lift the team’s defense. He’s given up seven runs on 19 hits in his last two outings (9.1 innings).
As for the offense, it’s been serviceable overall (11th in hits, seventh in homers, and 13th in batting average). Manny Machado, however, ought to pick up the pace. Although he has 10 homers on the year, he’s only hitting .219.
Betting on the Houston Astros (32-16)
The MLB-leading Astros will be coming off a win. They just finished a four-game series with the Detroit Tigers, where they won all but one meeting.
Things are still clicking offensively. They are inside the top eight in all key stats – hits, home runs, RBIs batting average, and runs.
Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa are continuing to be the main figures of the team’s batting – Altuve is batting .297 and ranks 20th in the league in hits, while Correa successfully returned from a two-game absence (illness) to go 3-for-4 and blast one homer.
The two will have to do a lot because the starting pitcher duties will be handed next to the struggling Joe Musgrove. The second-year hurler is having a tough year so far – 3-4, 5.63 ERA – and the Orioles are 10-for-19 against him all-time. It’s a small sample size, but it’s a bit alarming.
Writer’s Prediction
The Astros do enough things on offense to win, 5-2.
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