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The Tigers make the trip to Houston to face the Astros! These two teams are having very similar seasons with both struggling to find consistency. They have talent still and just need to put it together. Our MLB odds series has our Tigers-Astros prediction, odds, and pick for Friday.
Tigers-Astros Projected Starters
Tarik Skubal vs. Hunter Brown
Tarik Skubal (8-1) with a 1.92 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP
Last Start: Pitched 6.2 innings and gave up one run on five hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts in a Tigers win.
2024 Road Splits: (3-1) 1.80 ERA
Hunter Brown (2-5) with a 5.58 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP
Last Start: Pitched six innings and gave up zero runs and two hits with four walks and seven strikeouts in an Astros win.
2024 Home Splits: (1-2) 4.66 ERA
Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Tigers-Astros Odds
Detroit Tigers: -1.5 (+155)
Moneyline: -108
Houston Astros: +1.5 (-188)
Moneyline: -108
Over: 7.5 (-110)
Under: 7.5 (-110)
How to Watch Tigers vs. Astros
Time: 8:10 pm ET
Article Continues Below
TV: Space City Home Network / Bally Sports Detroit
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Tigers Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Tigers have been inconsistent on their way to a 32-35 record this season. They have lost five of their last six games. Their bats have struggled this season, while their pitching has been great. Riley Greene, Mark Canha, Kerry Carpenter, Javier Baez, and Spencer Torkelson have stood out despite the offensive struggles. In comparison, the pitching has carried them when needed. Their ace is Tarik Skubal, who has been nothing short of dominant for them so far to start the season and then Jack Flaherty and Reese Olson have also been very good behind him. The Tigers' pitching has to carry them in this matchup and the foreseeable future.
The Tigers are starting Tarik Skubal as pitcher where he has an 8-1 record, a 1.92 ERA, and a 0.89 WHIP. Through 79.2 innings, Skubal has allowed 19 runs on 56 hits with 15 walks and 96 strikeouts. The Tigers are 10-3 in the 13 games that he has started this season. The Tigers have been great on the mound, and Tarik Skubal has been huge for them and should be the leader for the Cy Young award. They get a massive challenge against the Astros and their offense in this series.
The offense for the Tigers has struggled this season. The Tigers are 24th in the MLB in team batting average at .230 after having a batting average of .236 last season. Matt Vierling, Riley Greene, and Mark Canha lead the way in the batting categories for the Tigers. Greene leads in home runs at 12 and in total hits at 60. Then, Vierling leads in batting average at .268 and in RBI at 29, Finally, Canha leads in OBP at .348. Despite the offensive struggles, they get a favorable matchup against Hunter Brown on the mound where he has struggled this season for Houston.
Why The Astros Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Astros have opened this season struggling. They have a 31-38 record and they have continuously struggled to find any consistency this season. They have lost three out of their last four games. Despite their struggles, their offense has been great this season with the second-best batting average in the MLB. Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker, Jeremy Pena, Yainer Diaz, and Yordan Alvarez have been great for Houston behind the plate. The issue is all on the mound where they have struggled across the board. Ronel Blanco, Framber Valdez, and Justin Verlander have stood out on a struggling staff. The Astros have talent, but they have struggled all season to try and figure things out because of all the talent they have.
The Astros are starting Hunter Brown at pitcher. He has a 2-5 record, a 5.58 ERA, and a 1.52 WHIP. Brown has allowed 39 runs on 64 hits with 29 walks and 67 strikeouts through 61.1 innings up to this point in the season. In his 13 appearances for Houston this season, the Astros are 3-10. Brown has struggled this season and while he gets a favorable matchup against the Tigers and their offense, he has struggled to get anything going this season.
The offense for the Astros has been the second-best in the MLB so far this season. They are second in batting average at .259 after they finished last season with the same one. Jose Altuve and Kyle Tucker lead the Astros in almost every important batting category. Tucker leads in home runs at 19, in RBI at 40, and in OBP at .395. Then, Altuve leads the way in batting average at .294 and in total hits at 83. The Astros have been great on offense, but they get a matchup with arguably the best pitcher in the MLB this season in Tarik Skubal.
Final Tigers-Astros Prediction & Pick
The Tigers and Astros have talent and this game could signify if either is going to get back on track. The difference is pitching and the Tigers are starting Skubal on the mound, who has the clear advantage over Brown for the Astros. He can shut down this offense and make things close. Expect the Tigers to cover and potentially win against the Astros on the road thanks to Skubal.
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Final Tigers-Astros Prediction & Pick: Tigers -1.5 (+155)
