Houston Astros vs Los Angeles Dodgers Prediction, 9/12/2020 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Houston Astros vs Los Angeles Dodgers

Date: Saturday, September 12, 2020

Location: Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA

TV: FOX

Odds/Point Spread: Astros (+148) Dodgers (-160)

Max Muncy and the Los Angeles Dodgers (32-13, 1st in NL West) play the Houston Astros (22-23, 2nd in AL West) at Dodger Stadium on Saturday. The Astros open this game at +148 while the Dodgers are priced at -160. The O/U is set at 9. The pitchers taking the mound will be Framber Valdez and Tony Gonsolin.

Key Houston Astros Injuries

9/10/2020 Justin Verlander SP Forearm Expected to be out until at least Sep 27
9/9/2020 Lance McCullers SP Neck Expected to be out until at least Sep 21
9/7/2020 Chris Devenski RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 17
9/7/2020 Blake Taylor RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 16
9/5/2020 Rogelio Armenteros RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 23
9/5/2020 Jose Altuve 2B Knee Expected to be out until at least Sep 15
9/4/2020 Austin Pruitt RP Elbow Out for the season
8/23/2020 Yordan Alvarez DH Knee Out for the season
8/12/2020 Roberto Osuna RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 20

Key Los Angeles Dodgers Injuries

9/11/2020 Dustin May SP Foot Expected to be out until at least Sep 16
9/10/2020 Zach Reks LF Undisclosed Expected to be out until at least Sep 15
9/10/2020 Brusdar Graterol RP Knee Expected to be out until at least Sep 12
9/10/2020 Walker Buehler SP Finger Expected to be out until at least Sep 20
9/10/2020 Joe Kelly RP Suspension Suspended until Sep 16
9/9/2020 Justin Turner 3B Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Sep 14
9/9/2020 Pedro Baez RP Groin Expected to be out until at least Sep 12
8/22/2020 Edwin Uceta RP Not Injury Related Suspended until Sep 17
7/21/2020 Jimmy Nelson SP Back Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Astros have a 22-23 overall record this season. Valdez (11-11 win-loss record in his career) has earned a FIP of 4.28 and he has faced 699 opposing hitters during his time in the majors. His earned run average is 4.28 (76 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.419. He has given up 145 base hits (8.2 hits per nine innings) and has 82 free passes. Valdez has taken the ball for 160 innings and is sitting with 152 K's thus far in his career. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.58 and they have given up 162 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .213 against the bullpen and they've struck out 168 hitters and walked 106 batters. As a team, Houston allows 8.1 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.5 batters per nine innings. They are 15th in the league in team earned run average at 4.53. The Astros pitchers collectively have given up 356 base hits and 198 earned runs. They have allowed 52 home runs this season, ranking them 21st in the league. Houston as a pitching staff has walked 192 batters and struck out 370. They have walked 4.4 men per 9 innings while striking out 8.5 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.39 and their FIP as a unit is 4.65.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Houston is hitting .244, good for 16th in the league. The Astros hold a .418 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .317, which is good for 23rd in baseball. They rank 14th in MLB with 8.1 hits per game. Kyle Tucker is hitting .259 with an on-base percentage of .314. He has 41 hits this season in 158 at bats with 37 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .544 and an OPS+ of 125. Michael Brantley is hitting .310 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .380. He has totaled 36 hits and he has driven in 21 men in 116 at bats. His OPS+ is 143 while his slugging percentage is at .534. The Astros have 365 hits, including 84 doubles and 52 home runs. Houston has walked 146 times so far this season and they have struck out 335 times as a unit. They have left 278 men on base and have a team OPS of .735. They score 5.02 runs per contest and have scored a total of 226 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Los Angeles has a 32-13 overall mark this year. Gonsolin (4-3 record in his career) has a 2.38 earned run average while allowing 5.8 hits per 9 innings. His strikeout to walk ratio is 3.10 and he has gone up against 271 hitters during his pro baseball career. So far in his pro baseball career, Gonsolin has given up 44 base knocks while he has totaled 65 strikeouts in 68 frames. He has allowed 18 earned runs while holding a WHIP of 0.953 and a FIP of 3.4. The bullpen has an earned run average of 2.58 and they have given up 141 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .182 against the Dodgers bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 186 batters and walked 61 opposing hitters. As a team, Los Angeles allows 7 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.5 batters per nine innings. They are 1st in the league in team earned run average at 2.95. The Dodgers pitchers as a team have surrendered 315 base knocks and 133 earned runs this season. They have given up 53 home runs this year, which ranks 19th in Major League Baseball. Los Angeles as a staff has walked 120 hitters and struck out 385 batters. They give up a walk 2.7 times per 9 innings while they strike out 8.5 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.07 while their FIP as a staff is 4.01.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .252, good for 12th in the league. The Dodgers hold a .469 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .338, which is good for 6th in baseball. They rank 11th in MLB with 8.6 hits per contest. Max Muncy comes into this matchup batting .199 with an OBP of .342. He has 31 hits this year along with 21 RBI in 156 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .410 with an OPS+ of 103. Corey Seager is hitting .314 this season and he has an OBP of .365. He has collected 49 hits in 156 at bats while driving in 32 runs. He has an OPS+ of 157 and a slugging percentage of .609. The Dodgers as a unit have 387 base hits, including 71 doubles and 85 homers. Los Angeles has walked 180 times this year and they have struck out on 356 occasions. They have had 307 men left on base and have an OPS of .807. They have scored 5.64 runs per game and totaled 254 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Astros/Dodgers MLB game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take the Astros (+148)

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