In a non-conference college baseball game on Thursday night, the Texas Tech Red Raiders will take on the Arizona State Sun Devils. The Red Raiders (30-22, 12-17 Big 12) are struggling right now and are on a five-game losing streak after a 9-3 road loss against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The Sun Devils (29-24, 17-13 Pac-12) are on a three-game winning streak after a 16-7 road victory against the Stanford Cardinal.
Texas Tech is expected to have senior southpaw Ryan Free (5-2, 6.80 ERA) on the bump as he is coming off a losing effort against the Oklahoma State Cowboys, where he pitched 2.1 innings and gave up 11 runs on nine hits with a pair of hit-by-pitches, three walks and three strikeouts.
Arizona State is sending sophomore left-hander Ben Jacobs (7-2, 4.63 ERA) to the mound here and is coming off a victory over the Cardinal. He pitched six shutout innings and allowed four hits with four walks and nine strikeouts.
Texas Tech vs. Arizona State Baseball Betting Odds
How to watch Texas Tech vs. Arizona State
The game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Arizona State Sun Devils will be available to watch on the Pac-12 Network.
Texas Tech vs. Arizona State Predictions
There is a major difference between the pitching of Ryan Free and Ben Jacobs, and their most recent start indicates that the divide will be huge. The ability to hit the ball well and get on base is critical for a deep lineup, and Arizona State has been doing extremely well.
The Sun Devils have four hitters in their lineup with more than a 1.000 OPS this season (Kien Vu, Brandon Compton, Nick McLain and Ryan Campos), so they have a lineup with few easy paths for the opposing pitcher.
Fielding will sometimes get a bit overlooked, as the Red Raiders have committed 60 total errors compared to the Sun Devils' 54. All in all, go with the Arizona State Sun Devils to pick up the win and get their 30th win of the season.
Prediction: Arizona State Sun Devils -115
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