Game No. 103 Preview: Houston Astros at Detroit Tigers

Houston Astros (68-34) vs. Detroit Tigers (45-56), July 29, 2017, 5:10 p.m. CT

TV: AT&T SportsNet-SW
Radio: KBME 790 AM, La Nueva 94.1 FM
Online: MLB.TV
Tigers SBNation Blog: Bless You Boys

Pitching Matchup

RHP Collin McHugh (0-0, 7.71 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, .167 BABIP, 7.20 xFIP) vs. LHP Matthew Boyd (4-5, 5.48 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, .347 BABIP, 5.09 xFIP)

Preview

The Houston Astros sort-of stole game one against the Tigers with a late three-run home run from Josh Reddick. The Astros hope to continue the momentum with Collin McHugh.

McHugh is making his second start after rejoining the Astros rotation this month. McHugh dealt with an elbow issue all spring and start of Summer to return to stretch run.

McHugh allowed four earned runs on four hits over 4 2/3 innings on July 22 against the Orioles. McHugh had flashes of success, sporting a new slider. He hopes the rust is off against the Tigers.

Ian Kinsler (3-for-12), Nick Castellanos (6-for-11), and Justin Upton have 10-plus career at-bats against McHugh. Upton is the only one with a home run. Miguel Cabrera is 5-for-9 with two doubles.

Matthew Boyd is in his third major league season and hasn't had an era below 4.53 during that time. In July, he's had back-to-back quality starts (6 ER over 12 IP) including three earned over six innings on July 23 at Minnesota.

Boyd sports four pitches: fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup. The curveball (0.5) and change up (1.9) each have positive value in 2017 per Fangraphs. His fastball tops out around 92 MPH.

Carlos Beltran (1-for-6) and Marwin Gonzalez (3-for-6) each have six at-bats against Boyd, the most among active Astros bats. Jose Altuve (2-for-5) and Jake Marisnick (1-for-4) each have a home run against Boyd.