Thursday, August 28, 2014

Minute Maid Park in Houston

For Updated Odds on This Game Click Here

Minute Maid Park will host a game between the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros. The two teams at the bottom of the American League West standings will each look to get some wins in the final stretch to stay out of last place. In this game, the Astros will turn to Collin McHugh (6-9) to pitch, while the Rangers will hope second-year pitcher Nick Tepesch (4-8) to get the win.

McHugh has pitched better than his record will show. The 27-year-old right-hander has a 3.02 ERA with 126 strikeouts in 119.1 innings pitched. In his last 5 starts, McHugh has pitched well for the Astros, allowing just 6 earned runs in 30.2 innings. When McHugh takes the hill against the Rangers on Thursday night, it will be the first time he has ever faced a member of their team.

For the Rangers, Tepesch has had his moments this season where he looked like he had a chance to do big things and then there have been other games where he couldn’t get it going. In his last start, he allowed 6 earned runs in 6.1 innings with 3 walks. In his previous 4 starts, he had allowed only 7 earned runs in 25.2 innings. Unlike his opposing pitcher, he does have some experience throwing to players from the Astros. He has allowed 10 hits in 39 at-bats and has allowed just 1 home run. Jason Castro is 4-for-8 with the home run and Jose Altuve has gone 3-for-9.

Texas Rangers Betting Trends

Texas Rangers are 57-63-10 against the Over/Under

Run Differential for Texas Rangers is -1.1

Houston Astros Betting Trends

Houston Astros are 63-66-3 against the Over/Under

Run differential for Houston Astros is -0.7

Injuries to Watch

Texas Rangers

08/26/14 P Derek Holland Back expected to miss another week
08/26/14 LF Shin-Soo Choo Elbow 60-day DL (8/26), out for season
08/13/14 P Yu Darvish Elbow 15-day DL (8/10)
07/26/14 LF Jake Smolinski Foot 15-day DL (7/22)
06/11/14 P Tanner Scheppers Elbow 15-day DL (6/11)
06/10/14 1B Mitch Moreland Ankle 15-day DL (6/8)
06/04/14 P Alexi Ogando Elbow 60-day DL (6/3)
06/04/14 P Matt Harrison Back 60-day DL (5/14), out for season
05/22/14 1B Prince Fielder Neck 60-day DL (5/17)
05/21/14 P Martin Perez Elbow 60-day DL (5/11)
04/25/14 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff Back 60-day DL (4/23); out for season
04/23/14 P Pedro Figueroa Elbow 60-day DL (4/23)
03/31/14 2B Jurickson Profar Shoulder 60-day DL (3/23)
03/28/14 RF Engel Beltre Leg 60-day DL (3/26)

Houston Astros

08/22/14 P Brad Peacock Forearm questionable
07/29/14 P Josh Zeid Foot 15-day DL (7/25), out for season
07/23/14 RF George Springer Knee 15-day DL (7/20)
07/08/14 RF Alex Presley Oblique 15-day DL (7/7)
06/21/14 P Jose Cisnero Elbow 60-day DL (6/20)
04/26/14 P Matt Albers Shoulder 60-day DL (4/22)
03/31/14 P Alex White Elbow 15-day DL (3/21)
03/31/14 P Jesse Crain Bicep 60-day DL (3/21)

Josh's Pick: Take Texas

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