Los Angeles Angels Probable Pitchers & Starting Lineup vs. Houston Astros, May 10

Los Angeles Angels Probable Pitchers & Starting Lineup vs. Houston Astros, May 10

Probable starting pitchers

The Los Angeles Angels will try and win this series against the Astros and complete a .500 home stand as they send Griffin Canning to the mound against the defending champs. Canning was handed a huge lead his last time out against a struggling Cardinals team but allowed five runs in five innings and gave St. Louis a bit of hope in their comeback attempt. He tries to bounce back against an Astros team he's never fared well against, posting a 9.12 ERA in four career starts against Houston.

The Astros will counter with right-hander Christian Javier. Javier was a popular dark horse pick for AL Cy Young, and why not, after his excellent 2022. So far, Javier has a 3.54 ERA through his first seven starts which isn't quite Cy Young-caliber, but isn't bad by any means. Javier has always pitched well against the Angels posting a 2.59 ERA in eight appearances (four starts) but he had a shaky start in Anaheim last season. In his 3.2 innings of work Javier did strike out ten batters, but allowed three runs on five hits with three walks in an Angel victory.

Los Angeles Angels starting lineup

1. Taylor Ward - LF
2. Mike Trout - CF
3. Shohei Ohtani - DH
4. Anthony Rendon - 3B
5. Hunter Renfroe - RF
6. Brandon Drury - 2B
7. Matt Thaiss - C
8. Gio Urshela - 1B
9. Zach Neto - SS

Houston Astros starting lineup

1. Jeremy Pena - SS
2. Alex Bregman - 3B
3. Yordan Alvarez - LF
4. Kyle Tucker - DH
5. Corey Julks - RF
6. Yainer Diaz - 1B
7. David Hensley - 2B
8. Jake Meyers - CF
9. Martin Maldonado - C

Which LA Angels player needs to bounce back today?

Hunter Renfroe looked absolutely awful against last night's starter Framber Valdez. Most Angels hitters didn't look good, but Renfroe struck out in his three at-bats against Valdez and went hitless in his four at-bats although he did hit the ball hard his last time up. I'm hoping he looks a bit better against a new arm.

Which LA Angels player will be the X-factor in today's game?

Can Matt Thaiss stay hot? The Angels catcher has seven hits in his last 13 at-bats and after starting the season hitless in his first 14 at-bats is now hitting .310 on the season. I'm still not in love with Thaiss behind the plate, but his bat surely has come around, and this is unquestionably the best he's looked as an Angel. I'd love for him to keep it up against a really tough arm this afternoon.