Free Daily NCAA Lock Pick, Tuesday October 17th: Southern Mississippi vs South Alabama 7:30pmET
CLICK TO SEE PICK NOW
The Houston Astros may have been able to catch the Texas Rangers to win the AL West Division title this season but they haven't been able to catch them yet in the ALCS. On Monday afternoon, the Rangers snuck out with a 5-4 win in Houston to take a commanding 2-0 lead as the series shifts back to Arlington, Texas for games three through five. The pitching matchup in game three will feature Astros' righty Cristian Javier (10-5, 4.56) taking on the returning Max Scherzer (13-6, 3.77) of the Texas Rangers. The first pitch is scheduled for 8:03 PM EST.
For your daily picks in Major League Baseball, College Football Picks, the NHL, and all NFL action, check out all my premium picks with at least two per day. My Best Bet of the Week can be as low as $19.99 (usually $50) if you use this link. Take advantage of this as this comes with a profit guarantee. Win or get the money back in credit!
The Houston Astros closed out the regular season with four straight wins and then took three of four over the Twins in the divisional round and were one of the hottest teams in the playoffs heading into the ALCS. Unfortunately, the Astros have run into an even hotter team, the Texas Rangers, and now find themselves in a 2-0 hole as they hit the road. The Astros dropped the opener 2-0 despite an excellent performance from Justin Verlander, allowing two runs in 6.1 innings. The bullpen was even better with 2.2 innings of shutout baseball. The bullpen was even better in game two, getting 6.1 innings of one-hit baseball from their bullpen. Unfortunately, starter Framber Valdez allowed five runs in just 2.1 innings of work and, despite two home runs from Yordan Alvarez, the Astros fell 5-4. They now will need to win two games in Texas to get back home.
“I thought my pitches were good,” Valdez said through a t ranslator. “Maybe they got a little bit lucky. There were a couple of balls that weren't hit that well for base hits.”
The Astros will hand the ball to righty Cristian Javier in game three in a near must-win situation. Despite being down 2-0, the Astros have to feel good about sending Javier to the mound. In his career in the postseason, Javier is 5-1 in 15 games including three starts with an ERA of just 1.91. In last year's march to the World Title, Javier was 2-0 in three starts with an ERA of just 0.71. He went 12.2 innings and allowed just two hits with a K/9 rate of 11.71. Javier is 1-0 in this postseason, after going five innings and allowing just one hit in game three against the Twins.
Free Daily NCAA Lock Pick, Tuesday October 17th: Southern Mississippi vs South Alabama 7:30pmET CLICK TO SEE PICK NOW