T.M. Selection: Houston Astros.

I like the Houston Astros to win this game against the Texas Rangers on Tuesday. The Astros have looked really good over the last week winning a lot of their games but, they just lost their most recent series to the Orioles in a home series, and I think the Astros are going to be looking for a bounce back in this series. Their pitching still looked good in that series too, losing 2 of the games but giving up no more than 3 runs in any of them. I expect them to continue pitching well here but I see their bats waking up a bit with this pitching matchup. The Rangers just got destroyed by the Tigers in 2 games in a row, giving up 9+ runs in both games. I expect the Rangers to continue pitching badly here, and they don't have a great starter going either who is just going to shut down one of the best offenses in the league here. Dane Dunning (3-6, 4.19 ERA) is up for the Rangers here and he hasn't looked great in his starts this year. He has been giving up a ton of runs all year, giving up runs in 10/11 of his previous 11 starts, and he just gave up 4 runs in his most recent start against a bad Rockies offense. I expect the Astros offense to wake up here and put up a ton of runs on Dunning and their bullpen which has been terrible lately. Framber Valdez (13-4, 2.65 ERA) is up for the Astros here and he has looked great all year being one of their best starters on staff. He has rarely given up more than 3 runs in a start this year and just had a start where he only gave up 1 run in 7 innings played. I see him shutting down the Rangers lineup here and I don't expect them to put up many runs in this game. I like the Astros to win this game.

T.M. Prediction: 6-1 Astros.