Houston Astros at New York Yankees Betting Preview
The top two teams in the American League will battle it out in the second of a four-game series as the Houston Astros (43-26) take on the New York Yankees (52-18). New York will host this one at Yankee Stadium, with game time scheduled for 7:05 pm ET.
If Thursday’s game was any indication, this is going to be a wild series. After scoring four runs in the ninth inning, the Yankees won the first game 7-6.
In the loss, Framber Valdez pitched relatively well, allowing just three runs in six innings. He only allowed two hits and struck out seven, but he also allowed three walks.
Offensively, both Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez had two hits and hit three-run home runs. Jose Altuve also added three hits.
Jameson Taillon was roughed up in this one giving up six runs on ten hits in 5.2 innings. Still, the bullpen held the Astros in check over 3.1 innings and gave the Yankees the opportunity to come back.
Giancarlo Stanton had a three-run home run in the first inning, but the Yankees were held hitless until the ninth. In the ninth, the Yankees scored four runs off of Astros’ closer Ryan Pressly, with the game-winning hit coming from Aaron Judge.
The Yankees are the favorites playing at home Friday. They are -130 to win while the Astros’ moneyline sits at +110. The runline features Houston +1.5 (-196), and the over/under for total runs is eight.
Houston Trying To Bounce Back From Tough Loss
Coming into the ninth with a three-run lead has to leave the Houston Astros devastated after seeing it slip away. With all of the helium sucked out of their balloons, the Astros are going to have to find a way to bounce back against MLB’s best team.
Luckily, Astros’ starter Justin Verlander is the perfect person to toe the rubber for Houston after such a tough loss. This season, he is 8-3 with a 2.30 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and has 81 strikeouts in 82.1 innings of work.
Verlander is coming off of a rough start as he pitched just 3.2 innings, allowing four runs on nine hits to the White Sox to take the loss. Before that, though, he had won back-to-back games, giving up just one run in 14 innings.
Offensively, Yordan Alvarez has been one of the best hitters in baseball this season. In 224 at bats, he is hitting .317/.406/.665 with 22 home runs, 54 runs batted in, and 46 runs scored. In his last three games, Alvarez has hit four home runs.
Against the Yankees’ Luis Severino, Jose Altuve (.308 in 13 at bats), Yuli Gurriel (.417 in 12 at bats), and Michael Brantley (.273 in 11 at bats, HR) have all had some success.
Yankees Look To Stay Hot At Home
Not only do the New York Yankees have the best record overall (52-18), they have been absolutely unstoppable at home. To this point, they are 30-7 when playing at Yankee Stadium and will look to add another tally to the win column Friday.
Taking the mound for the Yankees will be righty Luis Severino. In 12 games this season, Severino is 4-1 with a 3.27 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and has 80 strikeouts in just 66 innings.
Like Verlander, Severino was roughed up a bit in his last start. In five innings against the Blue Jays, he gave up five earned runs on three hits and four walks. He did strike out nine in the loss and has struck out 29 in his last three starts combined.
Aaron Judge is the current favorite to win the MVP this season at -125 (Yordan Alvarez has the second-best odds at +550). This season, Judge is hitting .304/.379/.658 with 27 home runs, 53 runs batted in, 58 runs scored, and five stolen bases.
Keep an eye on DJ LeMahieu and Josh Donaldson in this one. LeMahieu is hitting .333 in 15 at bats with a home run against Verlander, while Donaldson is hitting .333 in 18 at bats. Joey Gallo, Marwin Gonzalez, Aaron Judge, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Giancarlo Stanton also have a home run apiece off of the veteran righty.
Take Yankees To Win At Home
This one is a tough one to call. On the one hand, you have a future Hall-of-Famer on the mound in Justin Verlander, who is more than capable of shutting down the Yankees. On the other hand, you have a Yankees team that is almost unbeatable at home and showed Thursday that they are never out of a game until the 27th out is made.
For that reason, it is hard to bet against New York in this one. Especially coming off of the heartbreak Thursday night, it might be tough for the Astros to bounce back. Also, Luis Severino has been special for most of this season and will be a challenge for a solid Astros’ lineup.
This one could be close, so taking the runline is enticing; however, until the Yankees show that they can be cooled down, take them to win, especially playing at home.
Take New York -130.
