ALCS Schedule 2020: Pitching Matchup, Odds and Final-Score Prediction

The Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays will start previously used pitchers for the first time in the American League Championship Series on Friday. 

The Game 6 mound matchup between Framber Valdez and Blake Snell is a rematch of Game 1, which was taken by the Rays. 

Houston worked its way back in the series with consecutive 4-3 victories in Games 4 and 5. If it takes another victory, a winner-take-all Game 7 would occur Saturday. 

Snell will attempt to prevent the series from going the distance. He kicked off the series with a quality start and has been hard to hit in a majority of his postseason outings. 

ALCS Game 6 Information

Start Time: 6:07 p.m. ET

TV: TBS 

Live Stream: TBS.com or TBS app

Odds (via DraftKings Sportsbook): Houston (+115; bet $100 to win $115) vs. Tampa Bay (-136; bet $136 to win $100); Over/Under: 8

Final-Score Prediction

Tampa Bay 4, Houston 2

Houston did not win the last two games in dominant fashion. The Astros outscored the Rays 8-6 in Games 4 and 5 and have not produced over four runs in a single game during the ALCS.

That bodes well for Snell and the Rays pitching staff. 

In Games 1 through 3, four of Houston's five runs came off home runs and the other was plated on a double play. 

Snell allowed one of those long balls to Jose Altuve in the first inning of Game 1 and then he shut out the Astros for the rest of his five-inning outing. 

In five of his six postseason appearances, Snell conceded one earned run or less. If he turns in another solid start, the Rays could have their bullpen finish off the contest. 

Tampa Bay only used four relievers in Game 5, so it can go to Diego Castillo, Pete Fairbanks and Ryan Thompson with as fresh of arms as you can get in this series. The trio combined to allow four hits and a single earned run in 7.1 ALCS innings. 

If Snell stretches his start into the sixth inning, like he did in Game 1 versus Toronto in the Wild Card Series, Kevin Cash may only have to call on those three to finish the job. 

Keeping every pitch inside the fences is still key for the Rays since Houston has eight home runs in the series. If the Rays take away the Astros' power, they could need two or three runs to clinch the series victory. 

Tampa Bay took two runs off Valdez in the first six frames of Game 1. The southpaw conceded four earned runs off nine hits over 13 innings in his last two appearances. 

While Randy Arozarena has been Tampa Bay's star of the series with three home runs, its key to winning Game 6 could be the bottom third of its order. 

Mike Zunino went 1-of-3 in Game 1 and Willy Adames forced a pair of walks in the series opener. Although Adames is 1-of-13 in the ALCS, he earned five walks. If he reaches base ahead of Zunino and Arozarena, the Rays could produce a small rally that makes the final difference on the scoreboard. 

If the Rays get a few runs off Valdez again, they could give its pitchers a sufficient lead to work with. The No. 1 seed may also have a chance to get runs off Houston's bullpen since seven relievers trotted to the mound in Game 5. 

A Tampa Bay victory would allow it to rest its entire pitching staff and set the rotation whichever way it wants ahead of Tuesday's World Series Game 1.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from Baseball Reference.