Houston Astros vs. San Diego Padres: Odds, Preview and Prediction – September 17

The San Diego Padres and the Houston Astros have put themselves in an excellent position for the playoffs. On Friday they will face each other in San Diego in order to get closer to their goal of securing a playoff spot.

Hunter Brown starts for the Astros. Brown has allowed two or fewer runs in six of his last seven starts, with his most recent start being an outlier when he allowed five runs at home against the Oakland Athletics.

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This season, Brown has a 3.59 ERA with 9.6 strikeouts and 3.2 walks per nine innings. He is supported by a bullpen that ranks fifth in the league with a 2.92 ERA since Aug. 1.

The San Diego Padres counter with a bullpen ERA of 3.07, ranking sixth. Tuesday's starter, Michael King, has allowed three or fewer earned runs in 12 consecutive starts.

This season, King has a 3.06 ERA with 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings and allows just 0.9 home runs per nine innings. He's going up against an Astros team that ranks seventh in home runs with nearly 4.9 runs per game and fifth in slugging percentage while they rank 16th in home runs with 4.5 runs per game and 13th in slugging percentage.

The San Diego Padres lead the league with a .274 batting average against right-handed pitchers, and they rank second in the league with nearly 5.3 runs per game since the All-Star break began on Monday.

With the Astros' offense struggling on the road and Michael King dominating, the Padres move one step closer to their goal of securing a playoff spot on Tuesday.

MLB selection: San Diego Padres -110

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