The MLB regular season is in full swing, as two elite teams in the American League get set for another battle. The Houston Astros will face the Detroit Tigers in the second game of their four-game series.
Detroit won the first meeting 6-5 over Houston on Thursday, in a game that went into extra innings. The Tigers earned the victory by way of a solo walk-off home run by James McCann in the eleventh. Houston will look to improve its Major League-best 12-5 record on the road, while Detroit is looking for its third straight win.
Line: Houston Astros (EVEN) vs. Detroit Tigers (-110); total: 8.0– view all MLB lines
Betting on the Houston Astros
There’s no doubt that the Houston’s winning formula this season is by going yard. The Astros (27-15) lead the majors with 62 home runs this season, with their latest homer coming from Preston Tucker during Thursday’s game.
“Home runs make everybody feel better,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said about their explosive bats. “They make hitters feel better, they make the coaches, me, feel better. They make our pitching staff settle in. It’s hard to rely on it, but we hit enough of them that our team believes that we’re going to hit one at the opportune time, and when we do, the guys get pretty excited.”
[sc:MLB240banner ]It seems as if Hinch and his Astros are not going to change their run-scoring strategy. However, they need to start getting more timely hits. The Astros are only hitting .230, worst in the American League.
The Astros need their star player Jose Altuve to break out of his hitting funk. Altuve is only hitting 3-for-25 in his past six games. He will have a great shot at a productive game when he faces Alfredo Simon on Friday. Altuve is 2-for-3 against Simon with an RBI and a walk.
This Friday, Collin McHugh (5-1) will start for the Astros. McHugh will look to continue his impressive numbers away from home. In his past eight road starts, McHugh is 4-0 with an ERA of 2.39. Houston is also 7-1 in the eight games that McHugh started this season.
The Detroit Tigers (25-17) came through in the clutch on Thursday with a narrow 6-5 victory in the 11th inning over the Astros. That win improves Detroit’s all-time home record against Houston to 11-3. The Tigers would like to see that winning trend carry on for the rest of their four-game series against the Houston road warriors.
Starting for Detroit is right-handed journeyman Alfredo Simon. In the past four games that Simon started, the Tigers have gone 1-3, with Simon giving up 12 earned runs in 23 innings. Simon should be able to capitalize on his starting opportunity on Friday, as he is 2-0 with an ERA of 1.25 in the three games that he started in Comerica Park this season.
Almost the entire Tigers batting order will see opposing Houston starter Collin McHugh across the mound for the first time ever. Only Yoenis Cespedes has been at the plate against McHugh, with one hit and a walk in three at-bats. Expect Cespedes to continue hitting well for the Tigers, as he has gone 6-for-6 with three walks in the past two games.
Another Detroit player that’s hitting well as of late is Nick Castellanos. For the past two games, Castellanos is 3-for-8 with one home run and six RBIs. Castellanos must keep his offensive momentum going, as the third-baseman is still just batting .240 for the year.
And as expected, two-time AL MVP Miguel Cabrera’s production will be the focal point of Detroit’s offense. Cabrera is on a nine-game hitting streak, with four home runs and 10 RBIs in those nine games. He went 2-of-4 with an RBI and a walk in Thursday’s game against Houston.
Writer’s Prediction
Detroit (-110) comes out on top 6-3 for their third consecutive win.
