Detroit Tigers vs Houston Astros Prediction 8-25-23 MLB Picks

The Houston Astros and the Detroit Tigers meet Friday in MLB action from Comerica Park. The Astros are fresh off a series versus the Red Sox. After wins in two of the first three games, on Thursday Houston lost in a blowout. As for Detroit, they lost two of three to the Cubs in their last set. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.

Houston Astros 

Houston managed to beat the Red Sox 9-4 and 7-3 in their first two games this week, but then fell 7-5 in the Wednesday game three. Martin Maldonado had a two-run homer in that defeat. On Thursday the Astros gave up a whopping 24 hits in a rough 17-1 loss. Alex Bregman had the lone RBI on a 2-for-5 day, and Mauricio Dubon had a run with two hits. 

In the starter role for the Astros on Friday it’ll be Framber Valdez. In his 24 starts this year Valdez is 9-9 with a 3.55 ERA and 153 Ks in 154.2 innings. Valdez is 2-3 with a 6.18 ERA over his last seven starts total. 

Houston Astros Team Facts

• The Astros have won each of their last seven road games against American League opponents following a loss.
• The Astros have covered the run line in each of their last 12 Friday road games against AL Central opponents.
• The Astros have trailed after 3 innings in four of their last five games as road favorites.
• The 'Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Astros' last six games as favorites against AL Central opponents.
• The Astros have lost the first inning in four of their last five games as favorites against American League opponents.

Houston Astros Player Prop Facts

• Kyle Tucker has hit a home run in four of the Astros' last five games against the Tigers.
• Alex Bregman has recorded an RBI in each of his last four road appearances against the Tigers.
• Jose Altuve has recorded two or more hits in nine of his last 10 road appearances against AL opponents that held a losing record.
• Framber Valdez has recorded six or more strikeouts in 12 of his last 13 appearances in night games against teams that held a losing record.
• Kyle Tucker has recorded two or more total bases in each of the Astros' last eight Friday games against opponents that held a losing record.
• Yordan Alvarez has scored at least one run in each of his last seven appearances with the Astros as road favorites against AL Central opponents.

Detroit Tigers

Over on the Detroit side, they had some trouble with the Cubs this week in their last series. The Tigers took an 8-6 win in game two, but otherwise lost 7-6 Monday and 6-4 in the Wednesday rubber match. Detroit’s Kerry Carpenter accounted for all the team’s RBI on a grand slam in the sixth inning but the Tigers couldn’t score from there on just five hits. 

It’ll be Matt Manning in the starter role for the Tigers on Friday. Over his 12 starts this year Manning is 5-4 with a 4.31 ERA and 42 Ks in 64.2 innings. Manning is 2-3 with a 4.79 ERA over his last seven starts. 

Detroit Tigers Team Facts

• The Tigers have won five of their last six games as underdogs following a loss.
• The underdogs have covered the run line in each of the Tigers' last six games at Comerica Park.
• The Tigers have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last four games against AL West opponents.
• The 'Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Tigers' last five games as home underdogs against AL West opponents.
• The Tigers have led after 5 innings in four of their last five games as underdogs against American League opponents.

Detroit Tigers Player Prop Facts

• Kerry Carpenter has hit a home run in four of the Tigers' last five games.
• Kerry Carpenter has recorded at least one RBI in seven of the Tigers' last eight games.
• Spencer Torkelson has scored at least one run in eight of the Tigers' last nine games as underdogs.
• Matt Manning has recorded four or more strikeouts in four of his last five appearances against AL West opponents.
• Kerry Carpenter has recorded at least one hit in each of the Tigers' last 16 games against opponents that held a winning record.
• Kerry Carpenter has recorded at least one total base in each of the Tigers' last 16 games against opponents that held a winning record.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Detroit Tigers ranks 29th in the league for runs scored this season (508).
• The Detroit Tigers ranks 28th in the league for RBI's this season (488).
• The Houston Astros ranks 5th in the league for strikeouts against this season (1019).
• The Houston Astros ranks 7th in the league for runs scored this season (630).

ANDREW’S FREE PICK 

I’ll take a stab on the Tigers in this one. Probably not touching it, though. Manning had a rough outing versus the Rays back on August 6 (5.2 innings; six earned) but since then he’s 2-0 with just one earned in 11.1 innings total. As for Valdez, he’s been struggling lately with 15 earned runs over his last 19.2 frames in three starts. Valdez is 0-2 in that time and could really use a quality start here. The good news for Detroit is that they’ve been scoring pretty well lately with four or more runs in five straight games. If the Tigers can keep that up they should have a realistic shot at a win in this opener.