The Astros begin an important stretch if they have any thoughts of digging themselves out of the AL West basement. Houston has the second-fewest road wins in the AL and begins a run in Anaheim where it plays 14 of 19 games away from home.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
Surprisingly, these AL West rivals will be meeting for the first time this season when they get together for a three-game set in Anaheim. Even more of a surprise is that the Astros are in the division basement and have been there for most of the year. We keep waiting for Houston to turn the corner and look like the club many pegged for a second straight bid to qualify for the postseason. It just hasn’t happened yet.
A big part of the problem has been the Astros play on the road. They won their first road series by taking two of three in Chicago last week and are only 7-15 in away games heading into the Big A. Over their last 16 on the road, Houston is 5-11, down 7.02 units on the moneyline with the over at 10-6 in those games.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
Dallas Keuchel (2-6, 5.92 ERA) surrendered seven earned runs and nine hits in six innings and never gave the Astros a chance in their 9-2 loss to Texas on Sunday. The 2015 Cy Young Award winner hasn’t won since Apr. 15, going 0-5 with a 7.78 ERA in seven starts since then, allowing 59 hits and 36 earned runs in 41.2 innings.
Keuchel was masterful against the Halos last year, winning three times in four starts with a sparkling 1.71 ERA and 27 punchouts over 26.1 innings against them. He’s 7-2 in 11 starts over 12 career appearances against the Angels.
Jered Weaver (4-3, 5.33 ERA) delivered a strong performance in Sunday’s victory over the Orioles to snap his three-game winless skid and earn his fourth victory of the year. He held the O’s to five hits and two runs while fanning a season-high six in seven innings. Weaver has tossed three quality starts in his last four and lowered his ERA to 5.33.
Knowing his fastball lacks velocity, Weaver threw and assortment of breaking balls and off-speed pitches to keep the O’s guessing. The strategy paid off in his best all-around start of the year. Weaver has been hurt by the long ball, surrendering seven in his last four starts and 11 total in 52.1 innings of work.
LIVE BETTING
With the 2016 season closing on the one-third mark, several players have traded places grabbing the national attention. However Angels’ center fielder Mike Trout is the one who once again leads position players in Wins Above Replacement.
Trout began the year with just five hits in his first 27 at-bats, and has since posted a 1.048 OPS over a 37-game stretch. He extended a hitting streak to seven games with a double on Tuesday, lifting his average to .326 with an AL-best .415 on-base percentage and slugging .570. Trout is on pace for 36 home runs, 112 RBIs and 18 stolen bases, and he possesses an amazing 1.067 OPS on 0-2 counts – nearly three times greater than the league average in those situations.
QUICK PICK
We keep waiting, expecting the Astros to start winning some games and climb up the AL West standings. After all, this is basically the same group that led the division most of last season, qualified as a wild card and advanced to the division round of the playoffs. They didn’t suddenly become a bad team.
Facing the Angels has to get Keuchel pumped for a turnaround to his season. He dominated the Halos last season, holding them to a .214 average while winning three times. The Angels showed some life offensively, but facing last year’s Cy Young winner could have them back in scramble mode. Weaver is susceptible to the home run ball and Astros’ power hitters will tee off.
MLB Odds: Houston 6, Los Angeles 4
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