Brett Oberholtzer (0-0, 0.00 ERA) and Tim Hudson (1-3, 4.50 ERA) are on the hill in the second of a two-game series between the Houston Astros (20-13) and the San Francisco Giants (17-16) at Minute Maid Park. The Giants won the last game 8-1 and San Francisco leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 8:10 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May. 13 and can be seen on CSN-BAY ROOT-SW.
This is the first time Oberholtzer will pitch this season. He pitched 143.2 innings last season, finishing 5-13 with a 4.39 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, and 94 strikeoutsJake Marisnick (.316, 15 Rs, 3 HRs, 13 RBIs, 9 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday. Hudson is 5-0 with a 1.24 ERA when pitching against the Astros. He is up against a below-average Houston offense which is hitting just .224 this season. Matt Duffy (.300, 4 Rs, 1 HR, 15 RBIs) has been successful at the plate, going 3 for 4 yesterday with five RBIs.
Houston is a -117 favorite against San Francisco and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at eight runs. The Astros have an overall money line of +870 and a record as the favorite of 5-6. Houston is a disappointing 1-3 as the favorite over its last 10 games. The Astros have seen an uptick in scoring against teams in the NL, averaging 10.0 runs per game. They average 4.4 runs per game on the season. The Astros are one of the best in the MLB in terms of home runs with 46. Houston is one of the best in the MLB in terms of steals, swiping 36 bases. As for the pitchers, opposing offenses have been stifled by the Astros, who have a team ERA of only 3.45. The Astros are the top team in the league at limiting hits and walks to their opponents, recording a WHIP of 1.11 so far this season.
In games where it is the underdog, San Francisco has a 8-6 record and an overall money line of -171. They have managed to pull off a perfect record over their last ten games while playing as the underdog, and have a 7-3 SU record over the same span. Offensively, the Giants have really picked up the pace in interleague games. They have exceeded their season average of 3.2 runs per game by averaging 4.3 in those contests. The Giants allow 3.9 runs per game, but does better whenever an AL opponent is on the schedule. They bring that runs allowed average down to 2.0 against teams from the AL.
The Giants have the edge in the season series, 1-0. The Astros have an 11-8 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Hudson takes the mound. Oberholtzer (LHP) will be on the hill against the Giants, who have a very good 6-2 record against left-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – HOU, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, Houston is 9-5, while San Francisco is 2-5.
Having scored one run in their last game, the Astros are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Giants have an 8-1 record in games where opponents scored that many runs or fewer.
It looks like the Giants have a slight leg up on the Astros, as the Giants have won their last two games while the Astros have lost their last two.
When they outhit their opponents, the Astros are 11-4. The Giants have a 13-3 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 29th, San Francisco sits near the bottom of the league in runs, scoring 109 this season. Houston ranks in the top half at 12th with 141.
Ranking 15th, San Francisco is in the top half of the league in walks, notching 102 this season. Houston ranks in the top 10 at seventh with 113.
When the Astros hit at least one home run, they are 15-8. When the Giants hit at least one homer, they have a 9-7 record.
