Each club dropped a weekend series against an AL West rival over the weekend, but redemption is right in front of them beginning on Monday. The Houston Astros (17-17) will stay on the road to face the Los Angeles Angels (19-16) who won't have to leave Anaheim. Houston had no issues with the Angels in 2022, finishing with a 13-6 record head-to-head. These franchises will renew acquaintances on Monday at 9:38 p.m. EDT. Angel Stadium will open its doors for a series that should be highly competitive.
Houston took a 3-0 lead into the eighth inning on Saturday, with a series win over the Mariners only six outs away. They proceeded to allow seven runs in the eighth, losing that game 7-5. In Sunday's rubber match, the offense mustered one run to lose the series. While the lineup isn't entirely to blame for the two losses, Houston's offense is far behind their pitching this season. The team is 15th in runs per game, squarely in the middle of the league. However, they're 20th in batting average, 21st in OBP, 27th in slugging percentage, and 24th in home runs with only 30 bombs through 34 games. Last season's championship club was top-10 in all of those statistics sans batting average. This year's Astros are top-10 in strikeout rate at the plate, but also bottom-10 in walk rate. Thankfully, reinforcements are imminent, with former All-Star Michael Brantley due back this week along with Chas McCormick, another solid hitt er. Jose Altuve should be back by the end of the month too.
On the mound, aided by a great defense, the Astros have the second-lowest ERA in baseball, which is where they finished in 2022. The bullpen is stout, with top-10 marks in ERA and FIP. It helps that they're nearly untouchable, with only one group of relievers striking out opposing hitters at a higher rate. Hunter Brown is the lucky arm that precedes them, as he's set to make his ninth career start to open this series. He's started six games this season, half of which came on the road. In those three outings, Brown only allowed five runs (run earned) across 18.2 innings. He's yet to allow a homer this season. This game will mark Brown's first time facing the Angels.