Astros Aim for Three in a Row Against Angels
The Houston Astros are heating up at the right time and can inch a little closer to the AL West title with a win over the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night.
The Astros have won the first two games of their series with the Halos by a combined score of 20-5. Meanwhile, the Halos would like to turn things around late in the MLB season with the hopes of avoiding a sixth consecutive losing season.
According to BetUS, the Astros are once again favorites on the road with a moneyline of -200, while the Angels have a moneyline of +170. However, the betting odds are slightly different at BetOnline, with Houston’s moneyline at -190 and the Angels listed at +175. Both sportsbooks have the over/under for the game listed at 9.5 runs.
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Almost There
With back-to-back wins over the Angels, Houston has won three in a row and eight of 10. The Astros have a comfortable eight-game lead atop the AL West with their magic number to cling the division down to four. They are also just 2.5 games behind the Rays for the best record in the American League.
As for the Angels, everything continues to go downhill late in the season. They’ve lost five in a row and 11 of their last 15 games, turning September into a nightmare. If the Halos lose just three of their remaining 11 games, they will finish another season with a losing record.
Throwing Junk
The Angels are so desperate for pitching that they’re literally throwing junk out there. Rookie Janson Junk will make the third start of his career on Wednesday night. He got knocked around for five runs (although only one was earned) in his first career start against the Rangers earlier this month but settled down in his last outing, allowing just one run over 4.1 innings against the White Sox.
Junk’s biggest problem is that he’s allowed three home runs in eight innings of work, which isn’t a good sign against the Houston lineup. The Astros have four players with a least 20 home runs, and that doesn’t even include Yuli Gurriel or Alex Bregman. Plus, the likes of Gurriel, Kyle Tucker, Jose Altuve, and Carlos Correa are all red-hot, with the Astros scoring ten runs in back-to-back games against the Astros.
Get Me a Dozen
The Astros will send 24-year-old Luis Garcia to the mound on Wednesday night. He will be seeking his 12th win of the season, going 11-7 with a 3.37 ERA over 26 starts and two relief appearances this season. Garcia actually took a loss against the Angels earlier this month, giving up four runs on eight hits over five innings but bounced back with 5.1 solid innings again the Rangers in his last outing.
The five runs the Angels scored on Tuesday was actually a big step in the right direction after managing just seven total runs in their previous four games. Shohei Ohtani did his part on Tuesday by hitting his 45th home run of the season. But the rest of the lineup around him continues to be unreliable, with Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon hurt and Jared Walsh in a slump.
Another One
With such lopsided betting odds, there isn’t a lot of upside in picking the Astros to win this game, although it remains the best option. The Angels have had no answer for Houston’s bats in this series, and a rookie making his third career start isn’t likely to have much success either. Play it safe and bet on the Astros to beat the Angels again on Wednesday.
