The Houston Astros (14-13, 6-9 home) close out a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies (15-13, 7-8 away) in primetime on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. Philadelphia can sweep the series with a victory as the Phillies took the first two games of the series.
The first pitch of the contest is at 7 p.m. EST inside Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. Houston is the betting favorite (-145 moneyline), and the over/under is set at 8.5 runs.
What to Know – Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia looks to stay red hot as the Phillies have won four in a row and seven of their last eight. The recent winning streak has the Phillies fourth in the NL East, 3.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves.
On the mound for the visitors is left-hander Bailey Falter (0-4, 4.50 ERA, 1.14 WHIP). Falter is still in search of his first victory of the season. The 26-year-old has made five starts, logging 28.0 innings, allowing 14 earned runs on 28 hits and four walks while striking out 19 batters.
On offense, the Phillies rank third in the MLB batting .276 as a team while scoring 4.4 runs per game. Philadelphia’s pitching staff is 15th in the majors sporting a 4.33 team earned run average.
Nick Castellanos is hitting .324 with four home runs, 17 runs batted in, and 23 runs scored. Alec Bohm has been a welcome surprise for the Phillies offense, adding three home runs and a team-high 21 RBIs.
What to Know – Houston Astros
The Astros look to avoid getting swept for the first time this season and get back into the win column. Houston has dropped to two games back of the Texas Rangers in the AL West.
The probable starter for the Astros is right-hander Jose Urquidy (1-2, 5.64 ERA, 1.75 WHIP). The fifth-year pro hopes to bounce back after a disastrous last start where the 27-year-old coughed up six earned runs over only 2.2 innings of work. For the year, Urquidy has pitched 22.1 innings, surrendering 14 earned runs on 30 hits and nine walks with 20 strikeouts.
Houston sits 18th amongst league teams hitting .244 and averaging 4.6 runs per game. The Astros’ pitching staff is second in the MLB showcasing a 3.26 team ERA.
Yordan Alvarez has cooled off at the dish, but the slugger is tied for third in the MLB with 27 RBIs. Jeremy Pena has added 16 RBIs thanks to six home runs and leads the team with 20 runs scored.
The Pick is In
Philadelphia is hot, while the Astros have mustered up just two runs during the first two games of the series. Houston is too talented on offense to continue the lack of run production, and Falter will need his best stuff to contain the Astros lineup.
Urquidy was knocked around in his last outing, but look for a solid bounce back from the starter and an Astros victory.
The Pick: Houston Astros ML
