Arizona Diamondbacks (84-76) vs Houston Astros (88-72)
Game Info: Saturday, September 30, 2023 at 8:10 pm (Chase Field)
Merrill Kelly (12-7) (3.38) vs Justin Verlander (12-8) (3.32)
Betting Odds: Arizona Diamondbacks / Houston Astros --- Over/Under: Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Houston Astros will play the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 2 of their series on Saturday night at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. The Astros won the first game in this series by a score of 2-1 on Friday night.
Astros Preview
The Houston Astros are 88-72 this season and they have won three of their last four games. Houston came into this series after winning two out of three games against the Mariners on the road. The Astros are currently in the last AL Wild Card spot, one game up on the Mariners. The Houston pitching staff has a 3.97 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP, and a .242 opponent batting average this year. The Astros offense has scored 818 runs with a .259 batting average and a .332 on base percentage. Alex Bregman is batting .261 with 24 home runs and 96 RBI’s for the Astros. The projected starting pitcher for Houston is Justin Verlander, who is 12-8 with a 3.32 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP over 157.1 innings pitched this season.
Diamondbacks Preview
The Arizona Diamondbacks are 84-76 this season and they have lost three of their last five games. Prior to this series, Arizona won two out of three games on the road against the White Sox. The Diamondbacks are currently in the second NL Wild Card spot, but are only up a half game on Miami. The Arizona pitching staff has a 4.49 ERA, a 1.33 WHIP, and a .251 opponent batting average. The Diamondbacks offense has scored 745 runs with a .251 batting average and a .322 on base percentage this season. Corbin Carroll is batting .287 with 25 home runs and 76 RBI’s for the Diamondbacks. The projected starting pitcher for Arizona is Merrill Kelly, who is 12-7 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP over 170.2 innings pitched this year.
Arizona Diamondbacks Team Facts
- The Diamondbacks have won each of their last four games as underdogs.
- The Diamondbacks have covered the run line in 10 of their last 11 games as underdogs against the Astros.
- The 'Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Diamondbacks' last four night games against AL West opponents.
- The Diamondbacks have led after 3 innings in three of their last four games as underdogs.
- The Diamondbacks have led after 5 innings in three of their last four games as home underdogs.
Houston Astros Team Facts
- The Astros have lost six of their last seven games as favorites following a win.
- The Astros have failed to cover the run line in eight of their last nine games as favorites against the Diamondbacks following a win.
- The 'Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Astros' last five games at Chase Field.
- The Astros have trailed after 3 innings in seven of their last nine games as favorites.
Arizona Diamondbacks Player Prop Facts
- Ketel Marte has hit a home run in each of the Diamondbacks' last two games as home underdogs.
- Gabriel Moreno has recorded an RBI in four of the Diamondbacks' last five home games against opponents that held a winning record.
- Christian Walker has scored at least one run in each of the Diamondbacks' last four games as home underdogs.
- Corbin Carroll has recorded two or more total bases in each of the Diamondbacks' last three games against AL opponents.
- Merrill Kelly has recorded five or more strikeouts in each of his last seven appearances with the Diamondbacks as underdogs against AL opponents.
- Ketel Marte has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 11 appearances with the Diamondbacks as home underdogs against AL opponents.
Houston Astros Player Prop Facts
- Chas McCormick has hit a home run in three of the Astros' last four games as road favorites against NL opponents.
- Jose Abreu has recorded at least one RBI in each of his last five appearances against NL opponents.
- Jose Abreu has recorded two or more total bases in each of his last five road appearances against NL opponents.
- Kyle Tucker has scored at least one run in seven of the Astros' last eight road games against NL West opponents that held a winning record.
- Justin Verlander has recorded five or more strikeouts in nine of his last 10 appearances with his team as a favorite against NL West opponents.
- Jose Abreu has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 13 road appearances against NL opponents.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Arizona Diamondbacks rank 4th in the league for strikeouts against this season (1233).
- The Arizona Diamondbacks rank 24th in the league for strikeouts this season (1334).
- The Houston Astros rank 3rd in the league for strikeouts against this season (1224).
- The Houston Astros rank 4th in the league for on-base percentage this season (.332).
Pick
Both of these teams are still fighting for their chance to play in the postseason, but they are currently in the playoffs with two games left. Arizona is 43-36 at home, while Houston is 49-30 on the road. The Astros are starting Justin Verlander, who has allowed three earned runs or fewer in three of his last four starts. The Diamondbacks are starting Merrill Kelly, who has allowed two earned runs or fewer in three of his last four starts. Houston has been very good on the road this season and Verlander has allowed two earned runs in his last three road starts (20 IP). Take the Astros here.
David’s Pick Astros ML
AUTHOR: David Racey
Mitch's Take...
