Photo Credit: MLB
The Houston Astros will go up against the Philadelphia Phillies to start their three-game series at Citizens Bank Park. Can NL’s underdog defeat AL’s best at home?
The Astros lost, 7-9, against the Baltimore Orioles in their last game. While the Phillies won, 6-3, against the Milwaukee Brewers. Can the Phillies beat the Astros to start a winning streak?
Astros’ Brad Peacock (2.49 ERA, 1.22 WHIP) has been slated on the mound to go up against Phillies’ Vince Velasquez (5.14 ERA, 1.39).
Pitchers
Brad Peacock, Photo Credit: Hdnux
Peacock has been performing well with an 8-1 record; he struck out over 70 batters in 52 innings. Peacock only gave up a run and a walk while striking out nine batters in seven innings against the Seattle Mariners in his last game.
Vince Velasquez, Photo Credit: Espn Cdn
While Velasquez is currently on a three-game losing streak. He allowed two runs and a homer against the Miami Marlins in his last game. The righty currently holds a 2-5 win-loss record with a total of 57 strike outs in 56 innings.
Photo Credit: MLB
The Astros’ offense is led by Jose Altuve and George Springer. Altuve currently holds an impressive .369/.424/.564 stat line and the highest number of hits among the Astros members. While Springer (.311/.386/.593) has contributed the most homers (27 homers) for his team.
Photo Credit: MLB
While Phillies’ Aaron Altherr is on a 10-Day Disable List due to a hamstring injury. Despite that, Maikel Franco would certainly do well in holding the fort; he has been performing consistently in his last 10 games with 12 hits, six runs and a dinger. He has a respectable .229/.288/.398 line and a .686 OPS; he also contributed a total of 14 homers and 38 runs in 81 hits throughout the season.
Prediction
Despite slating an underrated pitcher on the mound, the Astros’ batting lineup could certainly be enough to match Philadelphia’s firepower. If the Phillies can come up with some kind of counter in the absence of one of their best batters then they might have a chance of winning. But it’s hard to count on that because the Astros seem to have the upper hand in both offense and defense, unless the Phillies have a relief pitcher who can perform better than Bailey in their rotation.
Projected Winner: The Astros
Daily Breakdown 