The race atop AL West gets even hotter when the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Angels play the final contest of their current three-game set. The Astros won the first two games of the series, but the Angels remain just one game behind for the divisional lead. Can Houston complete the sweep to widen the gap against their divisional rivals? Read on as we break down this intriguing divisional matchup.
There’s plenty more happening in Major League Baseball, highlighted by a primetime matchup between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds. Check out the complete preview for that game here.
[sc:MLBArticles ]
Los Angeles Angels vs. Houston Astros Preview
Where: Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX
When: Thursday, July 30, 8:10 PM ET
Line: Los Angeles Angels (+121) at Houston Astros (-131); total 7.5 – view all MLB lines
Betting on the Los Angeles Angels
A sore wrist kept Mike Trout out of the first two games in Houston, and the Angels felt the effects of his absence in this series being outscored 16-8. Trout is batting .315 this season and has an MLB-best 31 home runs to go with 64 RBIs. Los Angeles may keep Trout off the field in this match so as not to aggravate his injury.
[sc:MLB240banner ]Albert Pujols does give the Angels’ batting a spark, hitting his 30th homer of the season Wednesday night. He has reached 30 homers for the first time since 2012. But Pujols may be left silent in this game being a 1 of 9 career hitter against Astros starter Scott Kazmir.
In order to avoid the sweep, the Angels need Matt Shoemaker (5-7, 4.55 ERA) back in his 2014 form, the year he went 16-4 with a 3.04 ERA in 27 games, including 20 starts. He’s on track to have another good outing after scattering just two hits in six innings, while striking out a season-high 10 in a 7-0 win over Minnesota on July 21.
But displaying the same sort of dominance may be quite difficult against Houston. Shoemaker surrendered six runs in three innings in his only game against the Astros this season.
The Angels have lost five of their last six games.
Betting on the Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are here to stay in the hunt for this year’s World Series. They’ve recently acquired Scott Kazmir (6-5, 2.24 ERA) to aid in that campaign. Kazmir has looked like an ace this July, going 2-0 with a 0.34 ERA in four starts. He allowed just three hits and walked one in his first start as an Astro, pitching seven shutout innings. Kazmir has already faced the Angels this season, allowing just one run in 7.1 innings of a 3-2 victory on June 21.
Houston has a hot player at the plate as well. Jose Altuve extended his hitting streak at Minute Maid Park to a team-record 18 games. He’s gone 4 for 9 with a double and six RBIs in this series thus far. Altuve may be able to continue his streak; he’s 4 for 7 lifetime against the Angels’ Shoemaker and he’s batting .406 in his last 17 games against the Angels.
Jed Lowrie could also return from right thumb surgery Thursday night. He was batting .300 with four homers in 18 games before getting injured in April. Lowrie has yet to face Shoemaker in his career.
The Astros have won their last four games against the Angels at Minute Maid Park.
Writer’s Prediction
The Astros (-131) complete the sweep with a 5-3 victory. Create a betting account now and get into plenty more thrilling divisional races in MLB.
