If you're into betting on baseball games, which is a bit like predicting thunderstorms in the Sahara, this one between the Rays and the Astros might ring some alarm bells.
Brace yourself for a classic showdown in the batter-friendly Minute Maid Park, where Houston Astros call home, and where the Tampa Bay Rays would show up hoping for a repeat of past glories. Houston's starting on the mound with Yusei Kikuchi, his stats this season round to a 4.85 ERA and 1.37 WHIP over 22 outings. Not exactly Cy Young material, if you ask me, but, hey, you never know.
The visitor’s mound, on the other hand, is going to be graced by Shane Baz who's pulled together a 3.75 ERA and 1.46 WHIP over just four appearances. Though his start count does resemble my weekly coffee intake, let's hope it's the quality that counts for him, not the quantity.
If their past performances hold out, bat-wielding Yainer Diaz and Jose Altuve for the Astros pose some serious threats, while you can’t miss out on Amed Rosario and Brandon Lowe from the Rays. Past face-offs have been somewhat of a mixed bag, with no clear advantage for either team. Though let's not get hung up on the past, you wouldn’t judge a car by its previous owner now, would you?
While Tampa Bay's had a fifty-fifty season with a 55-53 record, Astros are doing slightly better with a nose ahead at 56-52. Your guess, my lovely friends, would be as good as mine on whether the last outcomes of the matches for both the teams provide any indication of how this contest might roll.
Alright, with my nerves on the edge and yours hopefully too, here is the final prediction:
Albert’s Prediction: Houston Astros by 2