The Houston Astros (+400 to win the World Series) are heads and shoulders above the rest of the teams in the American League West division. The Baltimore Orioles (+200000 to win the AL East), meanwhile, are wallowing at the bottom of the AL East. In any case, this is an intriguing matchup between a serious World Series contender and a team that is looking to shock a powerhouse.
Starters: David Hess (1-7, 7.36 ERA) vs. Gerrit Cole (5-5, 3.94 ERA)
Pitching:
Hess is in a free fall, as he has yet to find a solution to his struggles. In his last start, he got blown out for seven earned runs on six hits in 6.0 innings of an 8-2 home loss to the light-hitting San Francisco Giants on Jun. 1. He is 1-3 with a 5.016 ERA in seven appearances (six starts) on the road. Cole has not allowed more than two earned runs in any of his past two starts, going six innings deep in each. The Astros are 5-1 in his last six starts.
Hitting
Keon Broxton is 3-for-11 in career vs. Cole.
The current Astros lineup is batting .174 vs. Hess.
Prediction: Houston wins, 8-3.
GAME 2
Starters: Gabriel Ynoa (0-2, 5.06 ERA) vs. Framber Valdez (2-2, 3.12 ERA)
Pitching:
Ynoa is still in search of his first win of the season. He could have gotten it in his last start with the right amount of run support, but that just wasn’t the case for him in an 8-1 loss to the Giants on the road, allowing two earned runs on five hits in 5.0 innings. Valdez gets his first start of the season this weekend, He is 1-0 with a 3.09 ERA in seven appearances (11.2 innings) at home.
Hitting
Baltimore is hitting .254 against lefty pitchers this season, as of this writing.
Michael Brantley is hitting .351 at home this season, as of this writing.
Prediction: Houston wins, 6-5.
GAME 3
Starters: Dylan Bundy (3-6, 4.64 ERA) vs. Wade Miley (5-3, 3.39 ERA)
Pitching:
Bundy has allowed exactly three earned runs in each of his past three starts. That stretch includes the Orioles’ 12-11 win over the Texas Rangers on the road on Jun. 4. The robust run support obviously helped Bundy, who is getting 4.08 runs behind him per nine innings. Miley will be up against his former team. Miley got a no-decision in his last start, allowing three earned runs on three hits in an 11-5 road win over the careening Seattle Mariners on Jun. 4.
Hitting
Chris Davis is 3-for-9 in career vs. Miley.
Aledmys Diaz is 4-for-9 with two homers in career vs. Bundy.
