The San Diego Padres and the Houston Astros meet in game one of their three-game interleague series in MLB action from Minute Maid Park on Friday.

Padres Lose Series Vs. Phillies

The San Diego Padres come into this series on the heels of a 5-1 loss in their series rubber match against the Phillies last time out. The loss dropped the Padres to 66-75 on the year, sitting a mile back in the NL West race and 7 games back in the NL Wild Card hunt. Juan Soto leads the Padres with 28 home runs and 84 RBIs with a .398 OBP as well while Xander Bogaerts has a team-high 140 hits. Fernando Tatis Jr. leads San Diego with 29 doubles and Manny Machado also has 26 home runs and 79 RBIs as well this season. Blake Snell will start for San Diego here and is 12-9 with a 2.50 ERA and 201 strikeouts this season.

San Diego Padres Team Facts

– The Padres have lost each of their last six road games against teams that held a winning record.
– The Padres have covered the run line in each of their last four games following a home loss.
– The Padres have trailed after 7 innings in each of their last four games at Minute Maid Park against AL West opponents that held a winning record.
– The Padres have led after 3 innings in each of their last four night games against the Astros.
– The Padres have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last four games at Minute Maid Park against American League opponents that held a winning record.

San Diego Padres Player Prop Facts

– Juan Soto has hit a home run in each of his two previous road appearances against the Astros after not playing the previous day.
– Manny Machado has recorded at least one RBI in seven of his last eight appearances against the Astros.
– Manny Machado has scored at least one run in each of his last seven road appearances after not playing the previous day.
– Blake Snell has recorded seven or more strikeouts in seven of his last eight road appearances.
– Xander Bogaerts has recorded two or more total bases in each of the Padres’ last five games against opponents that held a winning record.
– Manny Machado has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 10 appearances against the Astros.
– Blake Snell ranks 1st amongst qualified players for Earned Run Average (2.50) this season.

Astros Get Massive Sweep Vs. Rangers

The Houston Astros picked up a huge sweep over a division rival to start the week, racking up 39 runs in a three-game sweep of Texas with their 12-3 win in Wednesday’s series finale. The win pushed the Astros to 80-61 on the year, now sitting at the top of the AL West. Kyle Tucker leads the Astros across the board, hitting .290 with 145 hits, 26 home runs and 99 RBIs with 31 doubles while Alex Bregman has 22 homers with 92 RBIs and a team-high 148 hits. Yordan Alvarez has added 25 homers and 81 RBIs while Tucker also has a team-high 26 stolen bases this season. Hunter Brown will start for the Astros here and is 10-10 with a 4.53 ERA and 157 strikeouts this season.

Houston Astros Team Facts

– The road team has won each of the Astros’ last 11 games.
– The road team has covered the run line in each of the Astros’ last 11 games.
– The Astros have won the first inning in each of their last three night games.
– The Astros have trailed after 3 innings in three of their last four games as home favorites.
– The Astros have trailed after 5 innings in three of their last four games as home favorites.

Houston Astros Player Prop Facts

– Kyle Tucker has hit a home run in three of the Astros’ last four games against the Padres.
– Chas McCormick has recorded at least one RBI in seven of his last eight appearances.
– Alex Bregman has scored at least one run in eight of the Astros’ last nine games.
– Chas McCormick has recorded at least one hit in each of his last 10 appearances against NL West opponents.
– Chas McCormick has recorded at least one total base in each of his last 10 appearances against NL West opponents.

Matchup/League Facts

– The Houston Astros ranks 3rd in the league for strikeouts against this season (1087).
– The Houston Astros are one of only 3 teams in the league to rank top 10 in both strikeouts and on-base percentage this season.
– The San Diego Padres ranks 2nd in the league for walks this season (565).
– The San Diego Padres ranks T27th in the league for triples this season (11).

Chris’ Pick

I’m sticking with the Astros here. I just feel like the Astros are the better team playing the better baseball. Sure, Snell gives the Padres the edge in starting pitching, but you can pitch as well as you want, last I checked, it’s hard to win games scoring no runs and San Diego’s offense has been one of the most inconsistent in baseball this season. Give me the Astros, who have been smoking lefties pretty much all season long.