American League West rivals kick off a four-game series on Thursday as the Los Angeles Angels (30-27) take on the Houston Astros (32-23). The Astros will host this one at Minute Maid Park, with first pitch scheduled for 8:10 pm ET.
The Astros are the favorite in this one playing at home. They are -205 to win, while the Angels’ moneyline sits at +172. The runline features Los Angeles +1.5 (-120), and the over/under for total runs is 8.5.
Angels Look To Cut Deficit In AL West
At 30-27, the Los Angeles Angels currently sit in third in the AL West, six games behind the Texas Rangers. With the Astros sitting in second, just three games ahead of them, the Angels will look to cut into that deficit with a road win Thursday.
Taking the mound for the Angels will be 23-year-old Reid Detmers. In nine games, he is 0-4 with a 4.93 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, and he has 58 strikeouts in 45.2 innings of work. In his last outing, Detmers took the loss after allowing three earned runs in five innings to the Marlins.
Offensively, the Angels sit 11th in the majors in scoring, averaging 4.79 runs per game. As little surprise to anyone, Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout lead the offense.
In 212 at bats, Ohtani is currently hitting .269/.345/.538 with a team-leading 15 home runs and 38 runs batted in. For Trout, he is hitting .278/.369/.522 with 13 home runs, 31 runs batted in, and a team-leading 36 runs scored.
Astros Try To Bounce Back At Home
Astros fans were disappointed on Wednesday as their team dropped the rubber match against the Minnesota Twins, 8-2. With that loss, the Astros have dropped to just 15-13 at Minute Maid Park. While they have played much better on the road (17-10), they will look to add another tally to the home win column as they host Los Angeles Thursday.
The Astros are in the midst of a 17-game span without a break and will look to ace Framber Valdez to get them a win. This season, Valdez is 5-4 in 11 starts with a 2.38 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, and he has 77 strikeouts in 72 innings.
At the plate, Yordan Alvarez continues to lead the offensive attack. He is currently hitting .278/.392/.580 with a team-leading 14 home runs and 48 runs batted in. That runs batted in total is second in MLB this season.
Aside from Alvarez, others hitting the ball well include Jeremy Pena (8 HR, 26 RBI), Alex Bregman (7 HR, 29 RBI, 33 R), and Kyle Tucker (7 HR, 33 RBI, 7 SB).
Take Angels On The Runline
Looking at the trends, the Angels are 2-4 in their last six games and 4-11 in their last 15 games versus the Astros. In their last six games at Minute Maid Park, they are 1-5 straight up.
As for Houston, they are 15-5 in their last 20 games and 7-2 in their last nine home games. The OVER has hit in four of the last five games Houston has played in, although the UNDER has hit in six of the last eight games against AL West opponents.
Reid Detmers has the stuff to make things tough on opposing pitchers, but he has struggled to put it all together this season. Especially with their ace on the mound and Shohei Ohtani looming on the mound Friday, this is a game that Houston needs to pick up.
Expect the Astros to win this one, but don’t be surprised if the Angels keep it close. For that reason, take the Angels at +1.5 (-120) on the runline.
