Astros Can Take Down Tough Game Against Padres

Astros vs. Padres, 6:40 ET

We've made it to yet another getaway day as we see many series wrapping up on this Wednesday. There is just under two weeks left in the regular season and there is still a lot to be decided. Sort of anyway. In the National League, we likely have the Phillies, Dodgers, Brewers, Padres, and Diamondbacks in the playoffs with one spot remaining between the Braves and Mets. In the American League, we are probably getting the Yankees, Guardians, Astros, Orioles, Royals, and most likely the Twins in the playoffs. We also have Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani well on their way to MVP awards, and Tarik Skubal and Chris Sale likely taking the Cy Youngs. What is still to be decided is tonight's matchup between the Astros and Padres.

After starting the year poorly, the Astros turned it on and found a way to regain the form that has given them so much success over the past few years. The Astros offense is one of the best in the league with the team hitting .262 and on the verge of scoring 700 runs for the season. Houston hit well for pretty much the entire season, but their pitching struggled for a good portion of the year. Once they started clicking, the team started winning a bunch of games. Now they are 13 games above .500 and headed to the playoffs as the AL West winner, stealing it away from the Mariners. Tonight they have Framber Valdez on the hill, a guy that struggled in May, but has lowered his ERA every month since then. He now has a 14-6 record with a 2.91 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, and is holding opponents to a .217 batting average. He has allowed a total of seven earned runs over his past seven starts, covering 47.1 innings. He's only allowed one earned run in his past two starts. One reason for concern is that his ERA is almost full run higher on the road than it is at home. Conversely, he does have almost a full run lower in his night starts than day outings. He hasn't faced the Padres this season, but has held them to just 11 hits over 52 at-bats against him.

Padres RHP Dylan Cease pitches in the first inning vs. the New York Yankees at Petco Park in San Diego. (Chadd Cady-USA TODAY Sports)

The Padres rejuvenation and realization that they were actually a good team is something that needs to be studied. I get that teams can turn their season around, but the Padres have had all of the talent in the world for multiple years now and very little true success to show for it. Last season saw San Diego struggle and not make the playoffs. This season looked like they were headed in the same direction. The team is now one of the best hitting teams in baseball and firing on all cylinders. I truly think they will be one of the toughest draws in all of baseball. Tonight they send out one of their best pitchers, Dylan Cease. Cease has put together a good campaign, going 13-11 with a 3.58 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. While none of those numbers rank in the top 10 of the league, he does have 215 strikeouts which is good for the third most in the league. Cease's season hasn't been perfect, but he has shown flashes of his Cy Young finalist season. He threw six shutout innings against the Giants, striking out 10 hitters in the process. He hasn't faced the Astros this season, but has been decent against them, holding them to 21 hits in 82 at-bats.

Baseball is obviously a very long season, and we are knocking on the door of the playoffs with both of these teams set to try and find a way in. Who knows, this could be a preview of a World Series matchup. I think the Astros will take this one though. Both teams are hot, but Cease has been slightly less consistent than Valdez has been. I'll back the Astros in this one at -112. 

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