Baltimore Orioles Visit Houston Astros

The Houston Astros have three games against the Baltimore Orioles.

It seems that every time the Astros have a series at home, they underperform. It also seems every time the Astros play a “bad” team, they underperform. Well, now they’ve got a home set against a great team in the person of the Baltimore Orioles.

Houston and Baltimore already faced each other in one series this season, with the Astros winning the first two and the O’s saving face in the finale. In Houston’s last win, on August 9, the Astros earned an 8-2 decision over Baltimore. Cristian Javier (8-2, 4.36) got the win, striking out three and allowing two runs over five innings. Rafael Montero, Hector Neris, Bryan Abreu, and Kendall Graveman each pitched a perfect inning.

Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman collected three hits each in the win, and Kyle Tucker (21) hit a two-run homer. Throughout their shared history, Houston is 41-30 against the Orioles, their best record against an AL East team and their third-best winning percentage overall.

Standings

Houston Astros: 84-66, .560, first in the AL West, 1.5 games ahead of the second place Texas rangers. Third in the American League, sixth in MLB. Last 10: WLWWLLWLLW. On pace for 91-71. Playoff Odds: 88.9 percent with a 6.9 percent chance of a World Series Championship.

Baltimore Orioles: 93-56, .624, first in the AL East, 2.0 games ahead of the second place Tampa Bay Rays. First in the American League, second in MLB. Last 10: WLWLLLLWW. On pace for 101-61. Playoff Odds: 99.9 percent, with a 10.6 percent chance of a World Series Championship.

GameTimes and Starting Pitchers
Monday at 7:10 PM CT — John Means (0-1, 5.40) vs. Justin Verlander (11-8, 3.39)
Tuesday at 7:10 PM CT — TBD vs. Hunter Brown (11-11, 4.61)
Wednesday at 1:10 PM CT — TBD vs. TBD

Houston just survived a short three-game jaunt to Kansas City, where the Royals won the first two before the Astros escaped with a 7-1 win on Sunday. Jake Meyers (10) and Yordan Alvarez (28) went deep, while Jose Altuve and Chas McCormick each collected three hits. Framber Valdez (12-10, 3.20 ERA) struck out five over seven innings, allowing an unearned run on five hits and a walk.

After this series, the Royals will pay the Astros a visit for three at Minute Maid Park. Houston will then end the regular season on the road against the Seattle Mariners and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Baltimore is coming off a four-game set against their AL East nemesis, the Tampa Bay Rays. After losing the first two, the Orioles came back to take the last two. In yesterday’s series finale, Baltimore took extra time to take down Tampa Bay, winning 5-4 in 11 innings. Adley Rutschman came within a triple of the cycle, driving in a pair and going deep for the 19th time in 2023.

After taking on the Astros, Baltimore will head to Cleveland for four games against the Guardians. They’ll then finish their regular season at home with two games against the Washington Nationals and four against the Boston Red Sox.