Game No.14 Preview: Houston Astros vs. Los Angeles Angels

Houston Astros (9-4) vs. Los Angeles Angels (6-8), April 18, 2017, 7:10 PM CDT

TV: ROOT Sports SW
Radio; KBME 790, La Nueva 94.1 FM
Online MLB.TV
Angels SBNation Blog: Halos Heaven

Pitching Matchup

RHP Joe Musgrove (1-0, 4.35 ERA, 1.55 WHIP) vs. RHP Ricky Nolasco (0-2, 5.40 ERA, 1.32 WHIP)

Preview

Another game and another win for the Astros. On Monday, the Astros leaned on their pitching for the win. Houston is hoping to repeat that formula with Joe Musgrove on the mound.

But Musgrove will have to improve on his two shorts starts to start the season, pitching only 10 ¹⁄₃ inning thus far. But Musgrove best work has been at home in his short major league career, he is 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA in seven games (six starts). Musgrove allowed just one earned a run in over seven innings in his one career start against the Angels on Sept. 25 last season.

Ricky Nolasco, a 12-year veteran, is only one of the handful of Halo’s pitchers that the team has used to try to fill the gap in the rotation and hope to survive with the offense. Thus far, Nolasco hasn’t been able to be even close to league average in three starts — he has allowed 10 runs over 16 2/3 innings.

Matchup to Watch: Brian McCann vs. Ricky Nolasco

Veteran vs. Veteran. Brian McCann has had plenty of looks at Nolasco . McCann has 68 at-bats and is batting .338 with eight home runs and 26 RBIs.