The Astros had a tough day in their series-finale with the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday. They had four runs in the sixth inning but still lost, 9-7, after allowing three unanswered runs in the seventh and eighth.
It could very well be the effect of Carlos Correa’s absence (hand). However, we should see them return to form right away. Houston isn’t the American League’s current runaway number one seed for nothing. With Jose Altuve, George Springer, Alex Bregman, Marwin Gonzalez, and Yuli Gurriel, among others, the offense is an explosive bunch, whether they’re on a winning or losing stretch.
The defense, meanwhile, will be having Brad Peacock back on the mound, who has an 8-1 record with a 2.49 ERA in 22 appearances this season. He has 13 strikeouts and one allowed run in his last 13 innings, and the Phillies’ current batters are only 2-for-27 against him all-time (.074).
The MLB-bottoming Phillies are suddenly winning. With Sunday’s 6-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, they are now winners in five of their last seven, while also scoring five or more runs in each of those games (although, spoiler alert: they are miles away from a playoff spot).
Looking at it as a whole, there’s no way that this Phillies squad can go mano y mano with the Astros and win. However, by basing it on some offensive numbers in the last seven days, there may be a slither of hope. Philly, too, has a bunch of guys rolling – Freddy Galvis, Odubel Herrera, Nick Williams, and Maikel Franco are all hitting above .310 in the past week, and they combine for five homers, 22 RBIs, and 22 runs in that span.
The five should hope to do as much as possible for the contest, since their starter, Vince Velasquez is having a campaign that won’t intimidate any batter in the league. The second-year hurler is just 2-5 with a 5.14 ERA in 11 starts on the year.
Writer’s Prediction
The Astros (-160) should be able to get this one, 8-4.
