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Game No. 117 Preview: Houston Astros vs. Detroit Tigers

Astros shoot for three wins in a row.

By Ryan Dunsmore
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Houston Astros (63-53) vs. Detroit Tigers (55-60), Aug 15, 2015 6:10 PM CDT

TV: Root Sports SW, MLB.TV
Radio: KBME 790 AM, KLAT 1010 AM
Tigers SB Nation Blog: Bless You Boys

Pitching Matchup:

RHP Collin McHugh (13-6, 4.22 ERA, 1.32 WHIP) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (1-5, 4.57 ERA, 1.25 WHIP)

Preview:

Ah, home cooking. It's always the best. The Astros made it two wins in a row on Friday as the Houston bats came alive. They now face the artist formally know as Justin Verlander. They will send out Collin McHugh against the Tigers' 2011 MVP and Cy-Young Award winner.

Collin McHugh has posted back-to-back quality starts coming into Saturday's start - he has allowed three runs over his last 13 innings while striking out 14. This season on May 22, McHugh allowed three runs over seven inning on nine hits in a loss to the Tigers. This season at home McHugh is 9-2 with 4.81 ERA in 11 starts at Minute Maid Park this season -- he has allowed seven home run compared to eight on the road.

DETROIT TIGERS CAREER STATISTICS VS. COLLIN MCHUGH
BATTER AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS
Anthony Gose"]" style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Anthony Gose 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.500 0.500 0.750 1.250
J.D. Martinez"]" style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">J.D. Martinez 2 2 0 0 1 3 0 0 1.000 1.000 2.500 3.500
Miguel Cabrera"]" style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Miguel Cabrera 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0.500 0.667 1.000 1.667
Nick Castellanos"]" style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Nick Castellanos 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.333 0.333 0.333 0.667
Rajai Davis"]" style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Rajai Davis 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.333 0.333 0.333 0.667
Jose Iglesias"]" style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Jose Iglesias 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.333 0.333 0.333 0.667
James McCann"]" style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">James McCann 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.333 0.333 0.333 0.667
Ian Kinsler"]" style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Ian Kinsler 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

Justin Verlander opposes McHugh, and it's only Justin Verlander in name. The 2011 MVP/Cy Young Award winner just isn't the same. His number has slowly normalized a bit, he had a 5.09 ERA in June and is currently at 3.46 ERA in August. Verlander is 1-0 with a 2.95 ERA in three starts at Minute Maid Park in his career.

HOUSTON ASTROS CAREER STATISTICS VS. JUSTIN VERLANDER
BATTER AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS
Jose Altuve"]" style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Jose Altuve 3 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0.667 0.667 1.000 1.667
Jed Lowrie"]" style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Jed Lowrie 11 2 1 0 0 2 1 2 0.182 0.250 0.273 0.523
Colby Rasmus"]" style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Colby Rasmus 8 2 1 0 0 0 2 2 0.250 0.400 0.375 0.775
Luis Valbuena"]" style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Luis Valbuena 19 2 0 0 1 5 5 5 0.105 0.292 0.263 0.555
Carlos Gomez"]" style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Carlos Gomez 11 1 1 0 0 2 0 3 0.091 0.167 0.182 0.348
L.J. Hoes"]" style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">L.J. Hoes 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.500 0.500 0.500 1.000
George Springer"]" style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">George Springer 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.333 0.333 0.333 0.667
Chris Carter"]" style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Chris Carter 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
Jason Castro"]" style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Jason Castro 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0.000 0.167 0.000 0.167
Marwin Gonzalez"]" style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Marwin Gonzalez 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
Robbie Grossman"]" style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Robbie Grossman 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
Jon Singleton"]" style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Jon Singleton 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.000 0.333 0.000 0.333
Jonathan Villar"]" style="padding: 2px 3px 2px 3px; vertical-align: bottom;">Jonathan Villar 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

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Editor's Note: SB Nation's partner FanDuel is hosting a $125,000 one-day fantasy baseball league today. It's $2 to join and first place wins $10,000. Enter now! Here's the link.

In This Stream

AL Series: Houston Astros vs. Detroit Tigers, August 14-16, 2015

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