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The Houston Astros are looking for their eighth straight win tonight as well as a series sweep over the home club the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers have been struggling lately whereas the Astros certainly have not been. Houston is looking for their second sweep in a row and third in the last four series.
The Astros are playing some of the best baseball in the league and they are not looking back. The Tigers have been struggling this year as of late. A 7-3 start to the year seemed promising but since then the Tigers are 11-19. To begin the series the Astros have put a hurting on the Tigers. In the first game the Astros won 8-1 and followed that with a 11-4 win.
Houston comes into this game as a pretty large favourite with Verlander going against Soto.
Houston’s Offense Leads to Wins
The Astros are batting .283 as a team so far this year. That number is absurd, especially when compared with the Tigers .227 batting average. The Astros have also scored 240 runs this year for an average of 5.58 per game. The Astros are getting on base at a .358 clip and have slugged .514 so far in the 2019 season. The Astros aren’t just about the bats, however.
The pitching staff has a great 3.58 ERA and have struck out 409 batters already this season. George Springer is the catalyst for this squad as he is batting .329 with 16 home runs and 39 RBI. On the mound tonight is Justin Verlander. He has a 2.51 ERA and a 6-1 record on the season. Verlander has given up 10 home runs in just 57.1 innings pitched.
Tigers Look to Stop the Bleeding
The Tigers are doing all they can to stay out of free fall mode. They have scored 101 runs less than the Astros so far this season and have over 100 hits less. This is a team that needs to figure it out at the plate seeing as they have a terrible .299 OBP.
The pitching isn’t much better as they have a 4.85 ERA combined as a pitching staff. With 143 walks combined, this just isn’t going to get it done. The Tigers starter for tonight is Gregory Soto. Soto is 0-1 with a 15.75 ERA after getting tagged in his major league debut. Soto is tasked with the tough chore of slowing down this rough Astros line up.
Astros Look to Sweep
If there is any hope for the Tigers, it’s that Verlander allows five home runs and Soto pitches a no hitter. That won’t ever happen but for Tigers fans, they can dream. This is a game that is pretty much decided how it is going to go. Verlander is going to be using his stuff to create havoc all night for the Tigers. The Tigers need to hope that is it a low scoring game if they want to win. The Astros win this game. Verlander against his old team, no matter where the game is at is worth betting on.
