Xam’s Daily Gems;
Astros -1 -128 DraftKings 5 Units
The Astros turn to Hunter Brown with their season on the line at Minute Maid Park. He put together a fine season for the Astros, accumulating a 3.49 ERA and 1.27 WHIP across 31 starts. He was LOCKED IN for his last 7 starts of the year when he pitched to a 2.11 ERA and 0.98 WHIP! He also has postseason experience, pitching to a 1.69 ERA and 1/13 WHIP in 10.2 innings. The Astros were silenced yesterday by Tarik Skubal, but their lineup SHOULD have more success today. Southpaw Tyler Holton is going to be the opener for the Tigers today. He operated as a relief pitcher for Detroit this season so don’t expect him to go longer than an inning or 2. The Astros will obviously use every high leverage arm they need to in this game. Expect to see Ryan Pressly, Hector Neris, and Josh Hader to all be ready to go and pitch multiple innings if they have to. The Astros will have that desperation needed AND they have the players that have been in this spot before! If the lineup can come through, don’t be surprised to see the Astros force a Game 3 tomorrow!
Padres Money Line -118 DraftKings 5 Units
The Braves just look and feel like a team that has been pushed to the max. They admirably scratched and clawed their way into the playoffs, but they’ve used A TON of bullpen arms recently over the last 2 days, spanning 3 games, and just look like they’re running on fumes. Their lineup has also been particularly weak and it won’t be easy facing Joe Musgrove tonight. Musgrove is a proven veteran pitcher who’s pitched in big playoff games before. He ALSO pitched BRILLIANTLY to end his season, pitching to a 2.38 ERA and 0.86 WHIP over his last 7 starts. Lefty Max Fried goes to try and keep Atlanta’s season alive. While he’s pitched in plenty of playoff games, the postseason hasn’t been very kind to him. He has a 4.57 ERA and 1.42 WHIP over 65 innings. The padres have an ELITE lineup and a very fresh bullpen that’s ready to punch their ticket to the NLDS. The Braves had a nice run despite all their injuries, but the Padres are just the better, more rested team.