Diamondbacks at Astros 9/20/20 - MLB Picks & Predictions

The Diamondbacks upset the Astros in game one of this series, a win that improved them to 20-32 on the year and with only 8 games left in the saeon will not be in the MLB playoffs. The Loss dropped the Astros to 25-26 on the year and have really struggled in this season after losing in the World Series last season. 

Houston’s offense has taken a step back from last seasons impressive season and comes in batting .239 as a team to rank 20th in the MLB and is averaging 4.76 runs per game. Leading the Astros is right fielder Kyle Tucker who has emerged as another great piece for the Astros driving in 40 runs to rank 8th in the MLB this season. WIth established stars like Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve struggling this season the emergence of Tucker has helped the Astros stay afloat in 2020.

Arizona has had a disappointing 2020 and comes in batting just .233 as a team to rank 22nd in the MLB while averagin gjust 4.27 runs per game to rank 24th in scoring offense. Rightfielder Kole Calhoun is something that Diamondback fans should be excited for, he comes in batting just .224 on the year but leads the team in homeruns (14) and RBIs (35). Second baseman Kettle Marte leads the way in batting average (.290) but has hit just two homeruns and driven in 14 runs this year.

Madison Bumgarner has struggled in his first season as a Diamondback posting a 8.53 ERA and is 0-4 on the year. Bumgarner was a huge acquisition for the the Diamondbacks this offeseaon but with a stint on the IL with a strained back and poor statistics, he hasn’t exactly panned out in Arizona yet. In early August, Bumgarner faced the Astros and gave up 8 runs on 7 hits with two walks and just two strike outs over just 4 innings.

Taking the mound foer th Astros will be Jose Urquidy, he’s 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA. He appeared in just 8 games last season and wasand has appeared in only three games this season has pitched 16.2 innings, striking out 10 and walking 6.