Saturday, August 30, 2014

Minute Maid Park in Houston

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The American League West will see the two teams fighting to stay out of last place compete against one another at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. The Houston Astros will welcome their in-state neighbors, the Texas Rangers, this weekend for an intriguing series. Getting the ball for the Astros will be right-hander Scott Feldman (7-10), while the Rangers will counter with Miles Mikolas (2-5).

The Rangers have a solid roster of players, but their pitching has let them down throughout the entire season. Part of the problem for the Rangers has been their inability to bring the same pitchers to the mound every five days. Just 2 starters qualify for the ERA title and their pitcher on Saturday, Mikolas, has made just 10 starts this season. He has been beat up at each turn, allowing 41 earned runs in 57.1 innings, which gives him an ERA of 6.44. In his career against current Astros, he has allowed 15 hits in 40 at-bats (.375).

Feldman has been around the sport for a long time and will look to bring his record closer to .500 with a win against the Rangers. He has had an up-and-down month of August, going 3-2 with a 4.19 ERA, but has pitched better than those totals. He has 1 start where he allowed 7 earned runs and has allowed just 9 earned runs in his other 4 starts. He will be tested by a tough lineup that includes Adrian Beltre, Alex Rios, Shin-Soo Choo, and Elvis Andrus.

Texas Rangers Betting Trends

Texas Rangers are 58-64-10 against the Over/Under

Run Differential for Texas Rangers is -1

Houston Astros Betting Trends

Houston Astros are 64-67-3 against the Over/Under

Run differential for Houston Astros is -0.7

Injuries to Watch

Texas Rangers

08/28/14 RF Alex Rios Thumb questionable
08/26/14 P Derek Holland Back out indefinitely
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

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)

Guy's Pick: Take Texas

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