Houston Astros vs Cincinnati Reds Prediction: Expect a tough clash

On Saturday, Major League Baseball action will take place at Minute Maid Park, featuring a matchup between the Cincinnati Reds and the Houston Astros. The Reds recently completed a series against the Royals, in which they won all three games and swept the series. As for Houston, in their most recent series, they faced up against the Nationals. The Astros were victorious in the opening couple of games, but they were defeated by a three-run margin on Friday. 

Houston Astros defeated the Nationals on Tuesday by a score of 6-1 and again on Wednesday by a score of 5-4. In the series finale on Thursday, the Astros were defeated 4-1 after allowing three runs in the top of the 10th inning. Starting pitcher Cristian Javier went 6.0 innings, allowing no earned runs, no walks, and five hits while striking out zero batters. J.P. France will take the mound for the Astros on Saturday as the team's starting pitcher. France has a record of 2-1 with a 3.54 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 40.2 innings pitched over his seven appearances this year (the first seven starts of his career). The Astros have a record of 142-68 in their previous 210 games played in game one of a series, while their home record over the last 117 games played is 80-37. In their last 51 games against teams with a losing record, Houston has a record of 36-15.

This week, the Reds were successful in sweeping the Royals, claiming victories of 5-4, again by the same score, and 7-4 throughout the course of the three-game series. Ben Lively, the starting pitcher for Cincinnati, went 5.2 innings in the championship game and allowed two earned runs on 10 hits while walking no one. Andrew Abbott of the Reds is going to get the nod as the starting pitcher for the game on Saturday. Abbott has a perfect ERA and 10 strikeouts in 11.2 innings pitched over his two appearances so far this season, which are also the first two starts of his career. The Reds have a record of 5-1 in the last seven games they've played in the first game of a series, but their record is 5-11 in the last 16 games they've played after an off day. In their previous 13 games played on Saturday, Cincinnati had a record of 3-10.

I'm going to take the bet and go with the Reds in this one. The first two starts that Abbott has made this year have been incredibly successful for him. In 11.2 innings, he has racked up six hits and seven walks while maintaining an ERA that is perfect. If he can put together another solid start for Cincinnati, the team will be in good shape. As for Houston, even though they had seven hits as a team on Thursday, they were unable to find much success despite the fact that the pitching was pretty strong for the first eight innings. I believe that the Reds have a respectable opportunity to prevail, but Cincinnati will need to make the most of their chances at the plate in order to do so.