Scott Kazmir (7-10, 2.73 ERA) and Yovani Gallardo (12-11, 3.41 ERA) take the hill in the first of a three-game series between the Houston Astros (80-73) and the Texas Rangers (83-69) at Minute Maid Park. Action begins at 8:10 p.m. ET on Friday, Sep. 25 and can be seen on FSSW, RTSW and ESP2.
Kazmir pitched 3.2 innings in his last outing, surrendering three runs, striking out two and walking three in a 10-6 defeat to the Athletics. George Springer (.262, 52 Rs, 14 HRs, 37 RBIs, 15 SBs) had another good game Wednesday, going 2 for 5 with three RBIs. Gallardo went 5.0 innings, surrendering three runs, striking out four and walking two in a 3-1 defeat to the Mariners in his most recent start. Rougned Odor (.271, 51 Rs, 15 HRs, 57 RBIs, 5 SBs) has been successful at the plate, going 2 for 5 yesterday with two runs.
Houston is a -142 favorite against Texas and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at eight runs. The Astros have an overall money line of -470 and a record as the favorite of 50-42. Within its division, Houston has an 18-25 record as favorite and a 34-36 record SU. The Astros are one of the best in the MLB in terms of extra base hits with 487. Houston is one of the best in the MLB in terms of steals, swiping 112 bases. As for the pitchers, opposing offenses that come to Minute Maid Park have been stifled by the Astros, who have a team ERA of only 3.10 at home. The Astros are the fourth-best team in the league at limiting hits and walks to their opponents, recording a WHIP of 1.20 so far this season. Opponents have consistently been struck out by the Astros, who rank fifth in the AL in strikeouts per home game with 8.6.
In games where it is the underdog, Texas has a 58-53 record and an overall money line of +2,914. They have managed to pull off a perfect record over their last ten games while playing as the underdog, and have an 8-2 SU record over the same span. Offensively, the Rangers have really picked up the pace in the last 10 games. They have exceeded their season average of 4.5 runs per game by averaging 7.6 during that stretch.
The Rangers have controlled the season series, 12-4. The Astros have a 53-45 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Gallardo takes the mound. Kazmir (LHP) will be on the hill against the Rangers, who have a 30-28 record against left-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – Hou, O/U – Over
Notes
For the 25th time this season, the Rangers registered at least two errors in a game.
The Astros managed to give up five walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Rangers who are coming in with a 19-12 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
It looks like the Rangers have a slight leg up on the Astros, as the Rangers have won their last three games while the Astros have lost their last two.
When they outhit their opponents, the Astros are 59-18. The Rangers have a 62-9 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 10th, Houston is in the top 10 of the league in runs, scoring 670 this season. Texas ranks in the top five at fourth with 694.
Ranking 11th, Houston is in the top half of the league in walks, notching 459 this season. Texas ranks in the top 10 at ninth with 468.
The Astros are 67-44 when they hit at least one home run. The Rangers perform similarly when they hit one or more homers with a 61-28 record.
