The Houston Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers meet Saturday in MLB action from Dodger Stadium. This will be the second installment in a three-game weekend series. On Friday in the opener, the Dodgers eked out a victory. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.

Houston Astros 

The Astros took on the Mets this week, winning two of three games in that set. On Friday versus the Dodgers, Houston briefly had the game tied but couldn’t score outside the fourth in a 3-2 loss. JP France managed 6.0 innings with three earned on eight hits and two walks in the start. 

For the starter job on Saturday the Astros will go with Ronel Blanco. In his 12 games (three starts) this year Blanco is 1-0 with a 4.66 ERA and 31 Ks in 29.0 frames. Blanco is 1-0 with a 5.09 career ERA in 19 games (three starts). 

Los Angeles Dodgers 

Over on the Dodgers’ side, they played a pair versus the Angels this week and won both games. On Friday Los Angeles out-hit the Astros 9-3 in the victory. Starter Emmet Sheehan finished with two earned on three hits and two walks in 6.0 frames. 

In the starter role Saturday it’ll be LA’s Bobby Miller. In his five starts this year (the first five of his career) Miller is 3-1 with a 2.83 ERA and 28 Ks in 28.2 innings. 

The Astros are 4-1 in their last five Saturday games and 6-2 in their last eight in game two of a series. Houston is 71-34 in their last 105 versus a team with a winning record. 

Meanwhile, the Dodgers are 76-28 in their last 104 in game two of a series and 42-17 in their last 59 Saturday games. LA is 108-44 in the last 152 at home. 

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’ll go with the Dodgers in this one. Probably not touching it, though; the line’s too thick to mess with. Miller needs a bounce-back start after 5.2 innings and seven earned versus San Francisco back on June 17. Blanco is in the same boat; he gave up five in 5.2 frames to the Reds in his last outing. On Friday Los Angeles had a pretty nice all-around performance, even though the scoreboard got cold after the fourth inning. Still, it was an encouraging opener and I like LA to keep it up in game two.