After a rained-out opportunity against Houston on Tuesday night, Texas A&M baseball prepares for its final regular-season home series.
A&M (27-20, 8-13 SEC) welcomes the Missouri Tigers to Blue Bell Park for an important three-game series.
As the Aggies head into the final weekends of conference play, every game left is crucial to its postseason resume.
After a series win over LSU last weekend, A&M is on track to be a playoff team and still controls its destiny to get into the Big Dance. The Aggies were once No. 1 in the country and viewed as a preseason favorite under first-year manager Michael Earley.
Missouri (13-35, 0-24) versus A&M pits the last-place and 14th-place teams in the SEC standings against one another. The Tigers have yet to win a conference game this season.
Here’s what you need to know for the series:
Texas A&M vs Missouri series info
Dates: May 9-May 11.
Start time:
Location: Blue Bell Park in College Station.
How to watch Texas A&M vs Missouri
TV channel: SEC Network+
Livestream: Fubo, ESPN+, SEC+
Pitching leading the way for Aggies
Any time a team scores 11 runs in three games but still takes two of three games in a series against the No. 2 team in the country, it’s probably a good indication of quality pitching.
Such was the case last weekend, when the Aggies’ weekend starters rose to the occasion and picked up the struggling offense to give them just enough to capture the series.
Aggies ace Ryan Prager (3-3, 3.76 ERA) went seven strong innings against LSU, allowing one run and five hits in the outing.
Saturday starter Justin Lamkin’s (3-6, 3.88 ERA) start didn’t register a win for the Aggies, but Lamkin still went 5⅓ innings, allowing two runs on four hits in game two of the Saturday doubleheader.
Sunday starter Myles Patton (3-3, 4.95 ERA) was touched up a little more than his teammates, but through six innings, he allowed four runs and six hits while striking out six.
If the Aggies are going to continue their postseason resume, it will start with more quality outings from their weekend arms.
Missouri has struggled across the board
From a statistical standpoint, it’s hard to find an area the Tigers haven’t struggled with this season.
Offensively, Missouri is last in the conference in team batting average (.263) and doubles (65). The Tigers are second-to-last in total hits (400).
On the mound, the Tigers are the SEC’s worst in team ERA (9.27), total hits allowed (526) and home runs allowed (82).
With the Tigers being winless in the conference, this weekend provides a huge opportunity for the Aggies to take the series and potentially grab a sweep entering the final week of regular-season play.
Texas A&M vs Missouri baseball prediction
Prediction: Texas A&M takes all three.
Anything outside of a well-handled sweep for A&M should be viewed with concern.
Missouri isn’t a very good baseball team, and the Aggies just took two of three against the No. 2 team in the country. If there is any struggle over the next three games, it may be fair to suggest a lack of focus, as A&M is vastly superior to this weekend’s opponent.
With SEC teams looking to reach the magic number 13 in the win column, every matchup matters. If the Aggies can capture a series win, it would allow them to breathe a little easier with a season-finale road test against Georgia next weekend.
Reach Texas A&M Beat Reporter Tony Catalina at Acatalina@gannett.com. Follow the American-Statesman on Facebook and X for more. Your subscription makes work like this possible. Get access to all of our best content with this tremendous offer.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas A&M vs Missouri baseball prediction: TV channel, game info for SEC series
Reporting by Tony Catalina, Austin American-Statesman / Austin American-Statesman
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