By: The Persian
The Houston Astros will face the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night in the first of a four-game set at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. The Astros will toss out the first pitch at 8:10 pm as the Angels play out the string while the Astros prepare for the postseason.
Bookmaker has installed Houston as a massive favorite at -275 on the ML.
The Astros have once again shown they know how to flex their veteran muscle. They have raced past the reeling Seattle Mariners and have the look of a team getting ready to make a deep run come playoff time. There is a reason this team has gone to the ALCS so many times over the years. They are about to clinch another AL Central crown.
They have one of the most feared lineups in baseball because they can beat you in various ways, from small ball and manufacturing runs to using the long ball to their advantage. On offense, they are led by third baseman Alex Bregman, who has cracked 23 home runs to go along with 67 RBI while batting .258.
The Astros are hitting a very solid .262 this season, and several players are batting over .300. They are a very patient team at the plate, and most of their hitters will wait to see their pitch. They are also a battle-tested team, and that will help them in the postseason.
They will hand the ball over to Yusei Kikuchi, who sports a record of 5-0 with the Astros. He was 4-9 with Toronto before being dealt to Houston, where he has seemed to find his groove. His ERA in Houston is 3.19, compared to 4.75 with the Blue Jays.
The Angels are ending another very dismal and disappointing season, and they will miss the playoffs again. They are amid a rebuild, and some aging players have bad contracts attached to them. They will have to answer a ton of questions in the offseason and make some tough decisions.
On offense, they have failed to produce runs consistently, and their run differential is a brutal -133. They will need to try to muster some offense against the high-powered Astros.
They will hand the ball over to Jose Suarez, who sports a record of 1-2 to go along with an ERA of just under seven runs per outing. This could be a game where the Astros break it open early.
The Astros are 4-1 in their last five games and 4-1 in their last five games against the number too. They are also 39-38 in their road games against the spread. The totals have gone over in just one out of their last five games. The totals have also gone over in 30 out of their last 74 games at home. The Angels are 1-4 in their last five games and 1-4 in their last five games against the spread. They are also 38-36 in their road games against the number. The totals have gone over in two out of their last five games and 36 out of their last 77 games at home.
