Chris Heston (11-6, 3.48 ERA) and the San Francisco Giants (60-52) meet Scott Feldman (4-5, 4.46 ERA) and the Houston Astros (61-53) in the second of a two-game interleague series at AT&T Park. The Giants won the last game 3-1 and San Francisco leads the series 1-0. The game starts at 3:45 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Aug. 12 and will air on CSBy and RTSW.
In his most recent outing, Heston pitched 4.0 innings, allowing five runs, striking out one and walking two in a 5-4 loss to the Cubs. Brandon Belt (.272, 54 Rs, 17 HRs, 52 RBIs, 5 SBs) continued his strong season yesterday, going 2 for 4 with two runs, two home runs, and two RBIs. The Astros were unsuccessful the last time Feldman pitched. He pitched well, going 6.0 innings, giving up two runs, striking out three and walking two in a 5-4 loss to the Athletics. George Springer (.264, 43 Rs, 13 HRs, 29 RBIs, 14 SBs) went 1 for 2 yesterday with one run and one stolen base.
San Francisco is a -142 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at seven runs. When playing as the favorite, the Giants have a 32-28 record and overall money line at +107. They have performed well against the American League to earn an SU record of 10-5 and a 6-2 record when they were the favorite. Don’t expect the San Francisco hitters to swing wildly in their own ballpark. They average an NL-low 6.5 strikeouts per home game. San Francisco’s pitching staff has fallen apart in the past 10 games. Its average runs allowed per game rose to 5.0 during that span, compared to its 3.9 season average. The Giants are third in the NL in hits allowed at home with just 8.3 per game.
Moving on to the away team, the Astros come into this game with a win percentage of .500 when playing as the underdog (26-26) and an overall money line of +425. Over the past 10 matchups, they are 3-7 SU and have a poor 0-2 record when they were an underdog to win. Houston has stepped up their play against interleague opponents averaging an impressive 6.8 runs per game compared to their 4.4 runs per game season average. Houston is the top home-run-hitting team in the league with 156 home runs. The Astros have racked up 86 steals on the year, making them one of the most threatening base-running teams in the league. Switching gears to Houston’s pitching staff, they have the third-lowest road ERA in the AL at 3.78. They have a WHIP of 1.20 on the year, good for fourth in the league.
The Giants are 2-1 against the Astros this season. This game will feature Feldman (RHP) on the mound against the Giants, who have a 45-42 record when they take on a right-handed starter. Taking the hill against the Astros will be the right-hander Heston. They sport a 39-33 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – Hou, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, San Francisco is 26-17, while Houston is 23-20.
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 a 23-2 record in games where opponents scored that many runs or fewer.
When they outhit their opponents, the Astros are 44-13. The Giants have a 52-9 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking ninth, San Francisco is in the top 10 of the league in runs, scoring 488 this season. Houston ranks in the top five at fifth with 500.
Ranking 20th, San Francisco is in the bottom half of the league in walks, notching 305 this season. Houston ranks in the top 10 at seventh with 344.
The Giants are 41-23 when they hit at least one home run. The Astros perform similarly when they hit one or more homers with a 50-32 record.
