The Texas Rangers and Houston Astros face off on Monday in Game 2 of their ALCS series at Minute Maid Park. Let's break down this game and give out a free prediction.
Rangers Now Have Home Field Advantage
The Rangers know no matter what happens in this game, they will go back home with home-field advantage, but they shouldn’t be happy with that. The pitching was dominant in the first game, giving up only five hits and zero runs. Leody Tavares had quite the home run and that was a big reason the Rangers were able to secure the victory. Jordan Montgomery had quite the start, going 6.1 innings, giving up five hits and zero runs. He also had six strikeouts. Even though the Rangers were able to win the first game, they are going to want the offense to get going faster in this game. On the mound for the Rangers will be Nathan Eovaldi who sits with a 2-0 record and an ERA of 1.32.
How Do the Astros Bounce Back?
The Astros sent Justin Verlander to the mound, and they still now find themselves down 1-0 in the series. The Astros did have five hits, but they couldn’t bunch any together, and that was the difference. No one on the Astros had more than one hit, and that is something that is going to need to change in a big way here. On the mound for the Astros will be Framber Valdez, who sits with an 0-1 record and an ERA of 10.38. In his last start against the Twins, he gave up five runs and seven hits.
Shane’s Free Pick
The Rangers are going to take a 2-0 series lead with a big victory in this game. The better pitcher in this game is Eovaldi, and he’s going to have another strong start here. The Rangers are going to have no issue getting to Valdez early and often, and that will be the difference, as the Rangers are going to have no issue getting the job done here. Back the Rangers on the run line to cash.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
