Garion Thorne gives you a preview, prediction and pick for tonight\u2019s game between the Houston Astros and the Cleveland Guardians.<\/p>\n
Few teams needed a win last night more than the Astros.<\/p>\n
Houston came into Monday\u2019s action having lost 12 of its past 14 games, while also having lost nearly as many pitchers \u2014 at least it feels that way. Just take a quick glance at this club\u2019s IL. Hunter Brown (shoulder), Tatsuya Imai (fatigue), Cristian Javier (shoulder). Those aren\u2019t losses that are easy to survive, and the Astros have understandably been struggling. However, after a dominating 9-2 victory, Houston can at least take a small breath. <\/p>\n
Can the Astros make it two in a row this evening? Or will the Guardians bounce back? Let\u2019s preview this AL clash and make a couple picks on the DraftKings Sportsbook.<\/p>\n
Astros vs. Guardians prediction, preview<\/p>\n
So, remember that list of injured Astros pitchers I just recited? The consequence of the length of that list, is that you have to start people like Ryan Weiss. That\u2019s not to suggest that Weiss is completely without promise \u2014 he was a stud in the KBO in 2024 and 2025 \u2014 it\u2019s just that the right-hander\u2019s MLB career has gotten off to a slightly rocky start, and it\u2019s clear that Houston currently prefers the 29-year-old as a reliever. In 14.2 innings of work, Weiss has racked up 18 strikeouts, but he\u2019s also surrendered four home runs, 11 earned runs, and a sixth percentile opponent hard hit rate (54.5%). Weiss isn\u2019t quite built up to be a starter, either. Well, at least not fully, as he threw a season-high 76 pitches in his last outing. That means we\u2019re probably going to have to see a lot of the Astros\u2019 bullpen on Tuesday, which is not a good thing. Houston\u2019s RPs rank 29th in ERA (5.66) and they\u2019ve served up a league-high 1.89 opponent home runs per nine. Yikes.<\/p>\n
On the other side of this pitching matchup, we find another starter with little major league experience. That said, Parker Messick already looks like another developmental success story of the Guardians\u2019 pitcher factory. The former second-round pick debuted in 2025, maintaining a 2.72 ERA and a 2.98 FIP across seven starts. If possible, Messick\u2019s looked even better so far in 2026, allowing a mere three earned runs over 25.2 innings. Now, a .200 BABIP isn\u2019t going to sustain. Neither is a 91.4% strand rate. However, when you\u2019re limiting opponents to a 3.3% barrel rate and a 29.5% hard hit rate, you might just get a little \u201clucky\u201d from time to time. It\u2019s not like the southpaw has been skating by on a soft schedule, either. Messick has faced the Dodgers, the Braves, the Cubs and the Orioles. There isn\u2019t a single cakewalk in there.<\/p>\n
That pattern of difficult matchups will continue on Tuesday, as well. For as underwhelming as the Astros\u2019 record is, it\u2019s mostly a byproduct of poor pitching. The offense has actually been one of the best in all of baseball. Houston actually leads all American League teams in wOBA (.350) and wRC+ (124), with Yordan Alvarez leading the charge. He\u2019s been fantastic in left-on-left scenarios, too. In his 36 plate appearances within the split, Alvarez is slashing .448\/.528\/1.034 with a 315 wRC+. I don\u2019t want to discount Jose Ramirez, who has six homers and 10 stolen bases for the Guardians, yet a healthy Alvarez is easily the best bat in this series. He\u2019s that good.<\/p>\n
Astros vs. Guardians pick, best bet<\/p>\n