The Cleveland Guardians and the Houston Astros meet Monday in MLB action from Minute Maid Park. The Guardians just finished up a lengthy series versus the White Sox over the weekend. After losses in two of the first three games, on Sunday Cleveland bagged a shutout win. As for Houston, they’re coming off a series versus the Rays, splitting the first two games. In the Sunday rubber match the Astros took a rough six-run defeat. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
Cleveland Guardians
The Guardians took a 6-3 win over the White Sox on Thursday, then fell 3-0 and 7-2 in the next pair. Steven Kwan went 3-for-4 in the Saturday loss. On Sunday Cleveland got two homers and three RBI from Jose Ramirez in a 5-0 victory. Steven Kwan added a solo homer and a pair of hits, while Andres Gimenez had a run, an RBI and two BBs.
For the starter job in the Monday game the Guardians will go with Noah Syndergaard. Over his 12 starts this year Syndergaard is 1-4 with a 7.16 ERA and 38 Ks in 55.1 innings. Syndergaard put up six earned in 3.0 innings during his last start.
Cleveland Guardians Team Facts
- The Guardians have lost seven of their last eight games against the Astros following a road win.
- The Guardians have failed to cover the run line in each of their last six night games against AL West opponents following a win.
- The Guardians have led after 7 innings in four of their last five games as underdogs.
- The Guardians have led after 3 innings in five of their last six games as road underdogs.
- The Guardians have led after 5 innings in five of their last six games as road underdogs.
Cleveland Guardians Player Prop Facts
- Josh Naylor has recorded at least one RBI in each of the Guardians’ last six night games against AL West opponents that held a winning record.
- Noah Syndergaard has recorded four or more strikeouts in 23 of his 29 previous appearances with his team as a road underdog.
- Josh Naylor has scored at least one run in six of his last seven appearances with the Guardians as road underdogs.
- Josh Bell has hit a home run in each of his last two road appearances against the Astros.
- Josh Bell has recorded at least one total base in each of his last nine appearances with the Guardians as underdogs against AL opponents.
- Josh Naylor has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 15 road appearances against AL opponents.
- Josh Naylor ranks T6th amongst qualified players for Batting Average (.308) this season.
Houston Astros
Over on the Houston side, they fell to the Rays 4-3 in their weekend opener but then took a 17-4 blowout win in game two. Houston’s Jeremy Pena led the way on four RBI in the big win. On Sunday Houston gave up four in the very first inning and limped to an 8-2 loss. Jose Altuve (three hits; run) and Jeremy Pena (two hits; run) had half of the team’s 10 hits.
In the starter role Monday, the Astros are going with JP France. Across 14 starts this year France is 6-3 with a 2.87 ERA and 58 Ks in 84.2 innings. France is 4-2 with a 2.25 ERA over his last seven starts.
Houston Astros Team Facts
- The Astros have lost five of their last seven games as home favourites against AL Central opponents.
- The Astros have failed to cover the run line in each of their last eight Monday home games against AL Central opponents.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Astros’ last four games as home favourites against AL Central opponents.
Houston Astros Player Prop Facts
- Yordan Alvarez has scored at least one run in each of his last nine Monday appearances.
- Kyle Tucker has hit a home run in three of his last four home appearances against the Guardians.
- Jose Altuve has recorded two or more total bases in five of his last six home appearances against AL Central opponents.
- Alex Bregman has recorded at least one hit in each of the Astros’ last 13 Monday games.
- Alex Bregman has recorded at least one RBI in five of the Astros’ last six games as home favourites against AL opponents.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Houston Astros ranks 5th in the league for strikeouts against this season (832).
- The Houston Astros ranks 5th in the league for ERA this season (3.83).
- The Cleveland Guardians ranks 1st in the league for strikeouts against this season (732).
- The Cleveland Guardians ranks 30th in the league for home runs this season (82).
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’m going to stick with Houston. The Astros showed off what their offense is capable of during Saturday’s big victory over Tampa Bay, bagging 18 hits along the way. The bats should have a chance to flourish in this opener as well; Syndergaard has been pretty shaky lately. In his return to the mound Syndergaard gave up six earned in just three frames. That makes 17 earned runs in his last 14.0 innings total. On Sunday Houston had a rough go on the mound with five earned runs given up over the first seven innings. The late relief was better though, and the offense was pretty decent overall despite a few rough breaks and missed opportunities. Houston has three or more runs in six of their last seven games, so I like the offense to return in this opener.
