The Astros, the defending World Series champions, got off to a frustrating start as they went into Tuesday’s game worse than the Pirates.
In a sneaky pitcher duel, I don’t think either team will get away with this one.
Houston starter Cristian Javier struggled in his first start of the year (5 IP, 8 H, 3 ER) but calmed down on Wednesday with a one-run ball in six innings to put his ERA to a respectable 3.27. bottom.
Still, it doesn’t tell the whole story. Coming into the week, Javier ranked in the top 10 of all eligible starters for his FIP (1.67) and led the majors in out-of-zone swing percentage (51%).
This follows an impressive streak through the end of 2022, where he posted a 2.25 ERA and led eligible AL starters in strikeout percentage (34.4%) and zone contact percentage (79.1%) over the last 19 games. .
Pirates vs Astros Prediction
(6:35 PM ET)
Mitch Keller is finally showing signs of the electric starter Pirates fans and bettors have been waiting for for years.
He struck out seven hitters for the Red Sox over seven innings in his final start — and his 78 strikeouts were the most by a Pirate (Gerrit Cole) since 2015.
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He should be able to keep it up against an Astros lineup that wouldn’t have looked right without Jose Altuve and Michael Brantley, but the Pirates’ order would be thin without O’Neal Cruz.
This will be the underbetter’s sweet spot.
play: Astros-Pirates Under 8.5 (FanDuel)
