Houston Astros vs Detroit Tigers Prediction & Picks - MLB

Prediction published on 8/18/25, 3:27 PM  by Carlos Zabala | Modified on 8/18/25 at 9:10 PM in MLB Picks

Starting Monday, an exciting series will begin between the AL East-leading Astros and the AL Central-leading Tigers. Both the Tigers and Astros are looking to secure their division lead but are hotly pursued by the Mariners and Guardians.

It's also a repeat of the 2024 playoff series, when the Tigers unexpectedly shut out the Astros.

On Sunday, the Astros had no chance against the Orioles, losing Game 3 of that series 12-0 to a bullpen that imploded after Cristian Javier, recently recovered from his long injury, pitched only three innings. But it was the second time in that series that the Astros didn't score a run; Peña returned from a short absence, batted leadoff, but went 0-for-4 and struck out twice.

The Tigers also lost yesterday, going 1-8 against the Twins, but at least they won the first two games of that series and won 7 of the last 10, bouncing back from what was a very poor post-All-Star break restart for Detroit.