The Los Angeles Angels are bringing their traveling circus of a road trip to Daikin Park this Thursday at 8:10 PM EDT, and if you are tuning in on MLB.TV or Angels.TV, prepare for some premium comedy. The Angels are staggering into Houston with a miserable 21-41 record away from home, which is what happens when your team batting average is a frosty .235 and your injured list is acting as a VIP lounge for Yusei Kikuchi and Sebastian Rivero. DraftKings has the Astros installed as comfortable -176 home favorites, mostly because the oddsmakers know that expecting this Angels lineup to generate offense is a highly optimistic lifestyle choice.
The pitching matchup is a beautiful study in contrasts, featuring Houston’s Peter Lambert and his tidy 3.11 ERA against Grayson Rodriguez, who is sporting a 7.17 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP that reads more like an AM radio dial than a major league stat line. Ironically, the Angels actually boast the slightly better team ERA at 4.36 compared to Houston's 4.55, though they rarely have the run support to enjoy it. With the game total sitting at 8.5, head over to StreakChat to lock in your pick and tell us if you are riding with the favored Astros or expecting Rodriguez to pull off a miracle.