The Houston Astros begin a three game series Monday night, facing the Detroit Tigers in the Motor City. The Astros have the best record in the American League while the Tigers have the second worst record in the American League. Houston has won all 4 games against the Tigers this season. Framber Valdez (14-5) gets the start for Houston while Eduardo Rodriguez (3-4) takes the mound for Detroit.
The Houston Astros played Sunday afternoon at home against the Angels, then caught a flight out of Dodge for Detroit to face the lowly Tigers on Monday. The Astros come into this series with the best record in the American League and they have a sizable edge over the Yankees, so they should be able to hold on to the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. They average 4.46 runs per game, which is 11th in baseball. They are 13th in team batting average and 5th in home runs.
Framber Valdez's 23 consecutive quality starts are the most by any lefty or American League pitcher in MLB history.
— MLB Metrics (@MLBMetrics) September 7, 2022
Framber Valdez gets the start on Monday. The left hander has had an excellent campaign as he is 14-5 on the season with an ERA of 2.64 in 26 starts. He has 161 strikeouts and 60 walks in 171.2 innings pitched. In his last start he pitched well in a loss to the Rangers, allowing 2 earned runs on 6 hits in 6.2 innings with 11 strikeouts. He faced the Tigers earlier this season and gave up 2 runs on 9 hits with 1 walk and 7 strikeouts in 6 innings. The Astros have a team ERA of 2.96, which is second in baseball. The bullpen has an ERA of 2.82, which is the best in baseball.