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Detroit Tigers vs Houston Astros: AL Wild Card Game – Game 1

The Detroit Tigers are visiting the Houston Astros today at Minute Maid Park in the AL Wild Card series.

 

The Tigers had a strong finish

The Detroit Tigers finished the regular season third in the AL Central with an 86-76 record, including 43-38 on the road. They won 10 of 11 games in the race for the playoffs before losing the last two to the Chicago White Sox. The Tigers have a 3.63 ERA, a .230 batting average, a .291 on-base percentage, and 1.16 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Matt Vierling is the best player on the team with 133 hits, and 80 runs, while Riley Greene leads the team with 24 home runs.

 

The Astros won the AL West

The Houston Astros won the AL West with an 88-73 record, including 46-35 at home. They have split the last six games and are coming off back-to-back wins against the Cleveland Guardians. The Astros have a 3.75 ERA, a .229 batting average, a .306 on-base percentage, and 1.24 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Jose Altuve leads the team with 185 hits and 94 runs for the season, and Yordan Alvarez is on top with 35 home runs.

 

Betting Trends

The Astros are 11-5 SU in their last 16 games overall, 7-3 SU in their last 10 games against Detroit and 10-3 SU in their last 13 games against teams from the NL. Houston has played over the total run line in 8 of their last 12 games against Detroit and 10 of their last 14 home games while have stayed under in 4 of their last 5 games against teams from the AL Central. The Tigers are 10-3 SU in their last 13 games overall, 2-6 SU in their last 8 games against Houston, 7-1 SU in their last 8 games on the road and 3-7 SU in their last 10 games when playing in Houston. Detroit has played under the total run line in 5 of their last 7 games overall, 10 of their last 15 games against teams from the AL and 6 of their last 8 games against teams from the AL West.

 

Prediction and Conclusion

No one really saw the Detroit Tigers making it to the postseason this year, but they fully deserved it with a strong finish to the regular season. Unlike them, the Houston Astros were among the best teams in the league all season long and finished with the third-best record in the AL. The Tigers are definitely not impressed with that and will look for their chance to steal the series opener going with Tarik Skubal on the mound. He has an impressive season, being 18-4 for the year, with a 2.39 ERA, 228 K, 192 IP, and 0.92 WHIP. The Astros will also bring out one of their best, as Framber Valdez is 15-7 for the season with a 4.24 ERA, 169 K, 80.2 IP, and 1.33 WHIP. This will be a tight game, which is expected as the total run line is set at only 6.5 runs. Therefore, we expect both pitchers to start confident, so we go with under 0.5 runs in the first inning.