For the second straight series, the Houston Astros fell just short of a series sweep as they took a heavy 9-0 defeat on Wednesday against the Philadelphia Phillies. It was a rare shutout for the high-powered Houston offense, its first since April.
Look for the lineup to bounce back from that setback, though, and provide some run support for Dallas Keuchel. The Houston ace hasn’t needed much run support in his starts this season. He’s a perfect 9-0 with a sparkling 1.67 ERA, which would lead the AL if he qualified with enough innings pitched.
However, Keuchel will be making his first start in nearly two months due to a neck issue which landed him on the DL. He had pitched six scoreless innings in his last start against the Texas Rangers. In that start, the Astros won their ninth straight game which Keuchel has started, and are 10-1 overall in his 11 starts this season.
The Detroit Tigers just suffered a demoralizing three-game sweep at home against the Kansas City Royals. They were utterly humiliated on Wednesday, as they were demolished, 16-2. They’re now just 2-6 in their last eight games, and have scored a total of just six runs in their last three games.
Despite getting a couple of days off to regroup, the Tigers might be in for a similar fate with Jordan Zimmermann set to get the start against the Astros. After a promising spell to start June, the veteran righty has returned to being awful over his last five starts. He’s got a disastrous 7.83 ERA in those five starts, and has failed to log at least five innings in three of the five starts.
Zimmermann faced the Astros earlier this season, and didn’t do too badly. He gave up two earned runs on five hits in six innings, but he wasn’t helped out by his defense, which committed three errors that lead to two unearned runs.
Writer’s Prediction
The Astros (-180) offense helps make Keuchel’s return a success as they hand the Tigers another defeat.
