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#916 Houston Astros (France) -145 over Seattle Mariners (Miller) 7:10 PM CT

J.P. France may start to make some waves in the AL Rookie of the Year market with his record up to 9-3 alongside a 2.74 ERA. After some early inconsistency, France is 5-0 with a 1.44 ERA in his last five appearances, while not allowing a home run. Four of those five games came against teams in the postseason mix in the American League including seven excellent innings vs. the Rangers. The Astros have a 1.15 bullpen ERA in the past 10 games and Houston is 10-5 while +31 in scoring so far in August for impressive results. Houston may deserve an even better record having gone 1-7 in extra-inning games this season and few teams have been better since the All-Star Break, particularly in the AL, with Houston 20-11. Seattle has a 5-2 edge in the season series with the Astros and the Mariners are a game better than Houston August at 11-4. The past three wins came against the struggling Royals however and Seattle pitching was hit hard in that series allowing 24 runs. Bryce Miller is another rookie starter having success this season, but Miller has a 4.04 ERA and has had some good fortune with a .260 BABIP in his 17 starts. Miller had a 5.15 ERA on the road, and he has had average results since an excellent start to his career in May with a 3.00 ERA in his first 36 MLB innings. The Mariners had to use four pitchers including three top relievers to close out yesterday’s win while the Astros had an off day. The Mariners lineup also has the second highest strikeout rate in the past month, in great contrast to Houston’s low strikeout pace. In this pairing of young starters, France seems more likely to be able to count on getting a strikeout in a key spot and the bullpen for Houston is much better shape to start this big AL West series.