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The Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros square off on Friday with first pitch set for 8:10 p.m. ET. The game takes place at Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX and will only be available on local TV or through an MLB.tv subscription. Beau Brieske will make his third start of the season for Detroit, and Luis Garcia will pitch for the Astros on Friday night.
Detroit has to be thankful the Cincinnati Reds exist because, without them, the Tigers would be the worst team in baseball, losing three of their last four games. Brieske allowed 4 earned runs over 10 innings of work through his first two starts in his first MLB season. Detroit ranks 29th in runs per game offensively with the lowest home run total. Austin Meadows has been the most effective hitter with a .284 batting average and .376 on-base percentage in his first year with the Tigers.
Houston swept the Seattle Mariners earlier this week and will look for a fifth consecutive victory Friday night. Garcia has a 4.15 ERA through four starts this season, coming off a performance in which he allowed 2 runs on 5 hits and a walk with 5 strikeouts over 6 innings of work. The Astros have a below-average offense compared to the rest of the league, and but they hit plenty of home runs with Yordan Alvarez leading the way with 8 homers.
Tigers vs. Astros
Pitchers: Beau Brieske vs. Luis Garcia
First pitch: 8:10 p.m. ET
Tigers local broadcast: Bally Sports Detroit
Astros local broadcast: SportsNet SW
Live stream: MLB.tv (subscription)
Moneyline odds: Astros -210, Tigers +175
Picks & predictions
Moneyline pick: Tigers +175
Houston is a heavy favorite in this matchup, and there is very little value to take the Astros at such a high price. Brieske kept the Tigers in the game over his first two starts, and Detroit actually has a better on-base percentage than Houston. There is enough value in this number to take the Tigers as road underdogs.
Player prop pick: Luis Garcia O5.5 strikeouts (-115)
Garcia was a solid strikeout pitcher last season, averaging 9.7 strikeouts per 9 innings in a full-season sample size. He will go up against a Detroit lineup that strikes out a decent amount as they rank No. 20 in strikeouts per game. The Tigers struck out just four times last night, but they struck out at least nine times four games in a row leading up to that.
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