Houston Astros vs San Diego Padres Prediction 9-9-23 MLB Picks

The San Diego Padres and the Houston Astros meet in game two of their three-game series in MLB action from Minute Maid Park on Saturday.

Padres Rout Astros In Game One

The San Diego Padres came out with a vengeance in Friday’s series opener winning game one by a final score of 11-2. The win brought the Padres up to 67-75 on the year, sitting 7 games back in the NL Wild Card race. Juan Soto leads the Padres with 28 home runs and 85 RBIs with a .398 OBP as well while Xander Bogaerts has a team-high 141 hits. Fernando Tatis Jr. leads San Diego with 29 doubles and Manny Machado also has 26 home runs and 81 RBIs as well this season. Seth Lugo will start here and is 6-6 with a 3.49 ERA and 117 strikeouts this season.

San Diego Padres Team Facts

- The Padres have lost eight of their last nine road games after playing the previous day.
- The Padres have covered the run line in each of their last five night games against American League opponents following a win.
- The Padres have led after 5 innings in four of their last six games as road underdogs against AL West opponents.
- The Padres have led after 3 innings in each of their last five night games against the Astros.
- The Padres have led after 7 innings in four of their last six games as road underdogs against AL West opponents.

San Diego Padres Player Prop Facts

- Juan Soto ranks 6th amongst qualified players for On Base Percentage (.398) this season.

Astros Look For Bounce Back

The Houston Astros will be on the hunt to rebound after their loss to the Padres on Friday, dropping to 80-62 on the year, still sitting atop the AL West. Kyle Tucker leads the Astros across the board, hitting .288 with 145 hits, 26 home runs and 99 RBIs with 31 doubles while Alex Bregman has 22 homers with 92 RBIs and a team-high 149 hits. Yordan Alvarez has added 25 homers and 82 RBIs while Tucker also has a team-high 26 stolen bases this season. Cristian Javier will get the start for Houston in game two and is 9-3 with a 4.65 ERA and 127 strikeouts this season.

Houston Astros Team Facts

- The road team has won each of the Astros' last 12 games.
- The road team has covered the run line in each of the Astros' last 12 games.
- The Astros have trailed after 3 innings in four of their last five games as home favorites.
- The Astros have won the first inning in each of their last four night games.
- The Astros have trailed after 7 innings in each of their last five games as home favorites.

Matchup/League Facts

- The Houston Astros ranks 3rd in the league for strikeouts against this season (1096).
- The Houston Astros are one of only 3 teams in the league to rank top 10 in both strikeouts and on-base percentage this season.
- The San Diego Padres ranks 2nd in the league for walks this season (569).
- The San Diego Padres ranks 3rd in the league for runs allowed this season (575).

Chris’ Pick

I’m sticking with the Astros here. Lugo’s pitched well as of late, but the games he’s pitched really well have come at home, which doesn’t necessarily help him here. Cristian Javier doesn’t have the best ERA on the year, but he’s been a lot better at home and I think he does enough here for the Astros to get revenge in a winnable spot. The Padres are still one of the most inconsistent teams in all of baseball and I’m not going to suddenly back them to start stringing wins together here. Give me Houston.