Ladies and gentlemen, we have quite a showdown in the heart of Texas as the Houston Astros welcome the Los Angeles Angels to the wonderfully average confines of Minute Maid Park. Don't underestimate the home-field advantage here. The unique nuances of the park can often be the 10th man on the diamond.
On the mound for the Angels, we see Jose Suarez stepping up with a slightly unsightly 7.46 ERA this season, a WHIP that has him seeing more runners than a marathon event, and a K/9 sitting at a respectable 10.7. Competing against Suarez, will be the Astros' starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi. Kikuchi, while boasting similar K/9 rate as Suarez, has flashed a more modest ERA of 4.42 and a significantly cleaner WHIP of 1.26.
The big bats on deck for the Angels include Taylor Ward, who's been casually scorching baseballs into the stratosphere with a batting average of .295 and 8 round-trippers. Let's not forget Nolan Schanuel and Zachary Neto, who’ve been doing their part to fill the Angels' RBI coffers.
As we press pause and shift focus to the Astros, we can't avoid mentioning the consistent hitting of Mauricio Dubon (.325 avg). The powerful Yordan Alvarez, certainly branded in the minds of pitchers with 19 ribbies and 9 homers, alongside the utility man Alex Bregman, will play a crucial role in defining the game's outcome.
Looking in the rearview mirror paints an interesting story. The Astros have had the Angels' number in four of their last five encounters. A telling tale, no doubt.
The regular-season mirrors this same tale, folks. Los Angeles has been fluttering in the disappointingly low altitude of 62 wins against 90 losses, while Houston has reserved a spot at the more respectable altitude of 82 victories and 70 losses.
The recent past does little to lift the spirits of the Angelic ones. Despite executing a decent last stand against Chicago, they have a trio of losses in their immediate past. The Astros, on the other hand, have had a mixed bag of results, but their last interactions with the Angels have been victorious.
Taking all of this into account with a pinch of my magic sports dust, it leads to one conclusion:
Albert’s Prediction: Houston Astros by 3