Although the Astros are in a race for their division title and the Padres are pretty much out of the Wildcard race, the Padres have been more impressive lately. And probable starter Lugo for the Padres has been more impressive than his counterpart, Javier, for the Astros even though Javier’s win/loss record is superior. In his last 5 starts Lugo’s ERA is 0.80 while Javier sports a 3.20 ERA. Javiers’ August WHIP was 1.84 while Lugo had a less ugly WHIP of 1.33 for August. Lugo averaged a full inning more per outing than Javier over their last 5 starts.
Although the Astros’ avg and OPS is outstanding the last 15 days, the last three games where they destroyed the spiraling Rangers make it look more impressive than it really is. Meanwhile the Padres have been solid at the plate against superior opposition. The Padres are 7-2 in their last 9 against the Astros and should continue this Saturday. Pick the Padres as a slight dawg for the value play.