Plus Money Player Prop In Astros-Tigers

Tigers vs. Astros, 8:10 ET

I once again went 2-1 in baseball yesterday - no complaints or anything on that, I know it can be misinterpreted in the text - I'm happy with the consistency. I was checking out the game that I lost though and it was a wild one. The Cubs went up three, then allowed three. They had another three-run inning and then allowed another three-run inning. It was a bit strange, but ultimately, the Reds pulled it out and won 7-6. I think this game we are looking at here today will be much less like that and more of a blowout so I'm going to put money on a plus-money player prop.

The Tigers are going to struggle in most games and it almost isn't fair that they have to face guys like Framber Valdez. As a team, they are batting just .169 for the season and only have 23 hits. Part of that issue is they had to face Tampa Bay to open the year and that rotation is nasty. They were able to pull out a victory yesterday, their first of the season and win in extra innings over the Astros. Now, they turn the ball over to Matt Manning. This is Manning's first start of the year for the Tigers. Last season was actually pretty decent for him considering he made 12 starts total - 10 were in the back half of the year in August and September. He finished the season with a 3.43 ERA over those 12 outings and only one of them was really bad - a home start against Seattle where he allowed seven earned runs over 2.1 innings. He was worse on the road than at home, but I wouldn't call it enough of a sample to be a big trend.

The Astros are not quite stumbling out of the gate, but you have to imagine they were hoping for better than a 2-3 record to start the year. After losing their season opener they took the next two games from the White Sox and now have lost back-to-back games. It seems like early on the bullpen may be a bit of a concern, but again, it is too early to really tell if the team is struggling or it is just early season kinks and adjustments to the rules. One guy that I don't have any concern about is Framber Valdez. He was as reliable as any starter last season and was able to post quality start after quality start. I expect more of the same from him this year. You can expect that he will allow a couple of runs, but he's reliable, talented, and ready to take over the reins as the official ace of the rotation. He can really shine in an opportunistic matchup against the Tigers.

I am going to take Valdez at +105 to record a win. Why do I like this? Well, as far as dependable pitchers to get through innings, Valdez is one of the best. The Tigers are one of the teams that he can dominate and the Astros should be able to score against Manning.

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