Houston Astros vs. Detroit Tigers Betting Preview

Thursday night will feature an American League battle as the Houston Astros (46-28) take on the Detroit Tigers (32-42). The Tigers will host this one at Comerica Park, with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 pm ET. This will be the first of a four-game series between the two teams.

For the Astros, they come in red hot, having won ten in a row. On Wednesday, they finished a three-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles after scoring 13 runs on 17 hits, including four home runs.

The Tigers also finished a sweep on Wednesday, taking both games of a two-game interleague series with the St. Louis Cardinals. In Wednesday’s 6-2 win, Daz Cameron and Jonathon Schoop both went deep for the Tigers.

The Houston Astros are the favorites despite playing on the road. They are -215 to win while the Tigers’ moneyline is +180. The runline features Detroit +1.5 (+114), and the over/under for total runs is 9.5.

Pitching Matchup

The Astros will send righty Luis Garcia (5-4, 2.82 ERA) to the mound on Thursday. In his last start, a 2-1 win over the White Sox, Garcia went seven innings allowing just a single run, and struck out eight.

The Tigers will counter with Jose Urena (2-7, 5.79 ERA). Urena struggled in his last start as he gave up seven runs to the Los Angeles Angels in just 4.1 innings of work.

By The Number

Offensively, the Astros have been the best team in the majors this season. They currently rank tops in scoring, averaging 5.64 runs per game. The Tigers rank 26th, averaging 3.93 runs per game.

On the defensive side, it is once again the Astros with the edge. They rank ninth in scoring defense, allowing opponents just 3.97 runs per game. The Tigers fall to 23rd, allowing 4.88 runs.

Astros Look To Stay Red Hot

There may not be a hotter team in MLB than the Astros right now. Not only are they on a 10-game winning streak, but their offense is playing at a historic level right now.

In addition to leading the majors in runs per game, they are also leading in batting average (.277), slugging percentage (.453), on-base percentage (.348), and hits per game (9.58).

The catalyst for Houston’s offense has been Jose Altuve. This season, he is hitting .295/.370/.521 with 17 home runs, 41 runs batted in, and 57 runs scored.

The Astros are also proving they can hit for both average and power. In addition to Altuve, Carlos Correa (14), Kyle Tucker (13), Yordan Alvarez (11), and Yuli Gurriel (10) all have double-digit home runs.

Tigers Hope To Continue Unlikely Success Against Astros

While this seems like a David versus Goliath matchup, the Tigers have already had some success against Houston this season. Back in April, the Tigers actually swept a three-game series against the Astros in Houston.

Led by former Astros’ manager A.J. Hinch, the Tigers will look for continued success as they host Houston this weekend.

Jonathan Schoop has been the Tigers’ best hitter to date. He is currently leading the team in home runs (15) and runs batted in (40) while hitting .280/.333/.496.

Over the last week, rookie outfielder (and former Astros’ prospect) Daz Cameron has been exceptionally hot. In that span, he is hitting .375/.412/.813 with two home runs and five runs batted in.

Taking Astros To Win

While anything can happen in baseball, it is really hard to bet against Houston right now. Not only are they the hottest team in baseball, but they also have the edge when it comes to the starting pitcher matchup.

Houston is out to prove that Detroit’s sweep earlier in the season was a fluke and will hope to set the tone early Thursday. Take Houston on the moneyline (-215) in this one.