PLAYING THE PONIES
Sam Houston Race Park selections for Tuesday, March 26
Mar 26, 2019, 6:37 am
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Here are my selections for Tuesday. These are not meant to be in exact order, but merely the four horses I think have the best chance to win. For beginners, I suggest exacta boxes with three horses, using two of mine and one of your own. And you can always pick up a copy of Acing Racing 2016 to learn everything you need to know. (These are the picks and format that are available on the free tip sheet at SHRP)
FIRST
3-2-1-6
MS RED ROCKETTE did not show a lot in debut but should improve here
SECOND
7-8-3-2
SOUTH TEXAS DRAWL comes off a sharp effort against slightly better
THIRD
6-1-7-2
GIANT BLOSSOM has been just OK on tough circuits but should like the move to turf
FOURTH
7-1-2-8
SENATOR ROBERT has a pair of sharp efforts and should be in the mix
FIFTH
9-2-1-5
REAL GLITTER has been facing some tough runners and should do well here
SIXTH
3-1-8-5
GET THE BLING is in a good spot here and best effort should get it done
SEVENTH
5-2-3-1
TOMMY GROSSMAN was dull in last but should improve in this spot
EIGHTH
5-7-3-8
SUPER SIMPLE was a beaten favorite in last and should bounce back
NINTH
4-1-7-2
SARABI freaked in last and similar effort should get it done
Gunnar Henderson and Luis Vázquez homered and Trevor Rogers worked seven strong innings as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Houston Astros 3-2 on Sunday to avoid a series sweep.
Rogers (7-2) allowed five hits and three walks and struck out nine. The 27-year-old left-hander moved past two Hall of Famers with his 1.40 ERA through the first 13 starts of a season. Hoyt Wilhelm set the club record with a 1.50 ERA in 1959, and was followed by Jim Palmer’s 1.55 ERA in 1975.Keegan Akin struck out three in 1 2/3 scoreless innings for his third save.
Henderson hit his 16th homer, a solo shot off Spencer Arrighetti (1-5) in the first, to give Baltimore the lead. Ryan Mountcastle had an RBI single in the sixth and Vázquez made it 3-1 in the seventh with his first big league homer.
Arrighetti gave up two runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings. John Rooney relieved Arrighetti in his debut and allowed a run in 1 1/3 innings. Craig Kimbrel struck out two in a scoreless inning in his first game with the Astros.
Jeremy Peña had an RBI single in the third and Victor Caratini drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the eighth for Houston.
Key moment
Akin entered with one out and the bases loaded in the seventh and allowed only the sac fly to preserve the lead.
Key stat
Arrighetti retired 15 batters in a row following his four-hit first inning.
Up next
Tomoyuki Sugano (10-5, 3.97) gets the start for the Orioles in a home series opener against the Red Sox on Monday.
The Astros turn to Hunter Brown (10-5, 2.36) to lead off a series against the Rockies on Tuesday.