MLB Baseball
2013-06-18 - Milwaukee Brewers at Houston Astros
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
United States: MLB Baseball
Tuesday 18 June 2013 - First Pitch 8:10pm
1:10am (British Time)
Preview
This InterLeague three game series is between two teams that are in the basement of their respective Divisions. The Houston Astros (26-45) have the fewest wins in the American League, while the Milwaukee Brewers (28-40) have the joint third fewest wins in the National League.
However, both teams are playing far better than their current records would indicate- Milwaukee are 6-3 in their last 9 games, while Houston had won 4 in a row before losing their last game against the Chicago White Sox.
Houston will be sending Jordan Lyles to the mound for this game and will hope he can provide the platform for the Astros to get back to winning ways. Lyles is 3-1 with a 3.48 ERA this season, but he has been even more effective in his last six starts as he has shrunk that to a 1.67 ERA.
The pitcher would certainly have a better record than he does if he has been given the run support from the batting line up. In those six starts, Lyles has been given an average of less than 3 runs per start and he is coming in off a performance where he held Seattle scoreless through seven innings.
The last time Lyles faced Milwaukee he held them scoreless, but he has struggled against them prior to that. Before that game back in September, Lyles was 0-3 with a 5.54 ERA in five appearances against the Brewers, four of those coming in starts.
While Houston will look for their starting pitcher to give them an edge, it is the starting rotation of the Milwaukee Brewers that has sparked their recent good run. The starting pitchers have a 2.26 ERA in their last 9 games and that has helped Milwaukee win 6 of those games.
They send Alfredo Figaro to the mound after he threw seven scoreless innings in the Milwaukee win over Miami. He is 1-0 with a 3.47 ERA this season and that was the first win recorded by the pitcher since 2009. However, Figaro will look to make sure that performance was not an exception after being tagged for 8 runs in the previous 11 innings pitched.
Head to Head
This is the first games between these teams this season.
Houston are 4-2 in the last 6 games of the series, although they did lose the last time they hosted Milwaukee in August 2012.
Prediction
Both teams are in better form than their losing records would suggest, but I am going to back the team with the weaker record to win this one.
Jordan Lyles has been performing well, while Alfredo Figaro has been tagged for some runs in recent innings and that could be the difference to allow the Houston Astros to take game one.
The Pick :
Houston Astros 4-2 Milwaukee Brewers
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll back the Houston Astros @ 1.95
