The New York Yankees and Houston Astros will meet tonight at Minute Maid Park to wrap up their three-game series, which the Yanks lead 2-0. Here are the baseball betting odds for the game:
Yankees +1½ (-190) 7 (-105) +124
Astros -1½ (+165) 7 (-115) -134
New York starter CC Sabathia may not have been the favorite of people who bet on MLB last night, seeing as how the resilient veteran had not picked up a win in more than a month. However, the Yankees in general are on a roll, and Sabathia was able to get his 6th win of the season and the 8th for the Brooklyn Bombers in the last 10 games. The 36 year old leftie kept the Astros to two runs – both of solo home runs by Marwin Gonzalez and Evan Gattis – and four hits in 6 2/3 innings. On the other hand, Houston starter Doug Fister allowed six runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings. It was one of those nights for Fister, who had his shortest start since July 2nd, and tied season highs for hits and runs allowed – in fact, the most runs he has surrendered sin his second start of the season on April 14th. All told, the Yankees had 13 hits. The final score was 6-3.
While Fister had his worst performance of the season, tonight’s Astros starter Lance McCullers (5-4) is coming off arguably his best performance ever. The 22 year old right-hander struck out 10 batters (including Mike Trout; only the fourth pitcher to ever strike him out) in 8+ innings on Friday 22nd in a 2-1 win over the Angels – which combined with his July 4th win results in 20 strikeouts in 15 innings. Needless to say this bodes well for Houston’s baseball betting chances. Another thing the Astros have going for them. The Yanks have won all of Masahiro Tanaka’s previous seven starts, including a 4-2 win over the Giants in which he pitched six scoreless innings. The Japanese righty is 7-2 and will start tonight, but he has struggled in his two career starts versus Houston, recording a 6.75 ERA in 10.2 innings. His first start of the season against the Astros was on Opening Day, on which occasions Tanaka surrendered two runs and had four strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings on his way to a no-decision.
To sum up, a few quick facts that baseball betting fans like to know about. Astros second baseman Jose Altuve has played in 191 straight games entering tonight – the longest active games-played streak in the MLB. Sadly, something similar can’t be said of third baseman Luis Valbuena, who had to leave early last night on account of a strained right hamstring. The Venezuelan has played 90 games for Houston this season. Moreover, designated hitter Alex Bregman – who is still looking for his first hit in the majors – was unable to move to Valbuena’s spot so catcher Jason Castro had to fill in at third, which was a first for him. Finally, entering tonight the Yankees are one of only two clubs this season to improve their winning percentage with each calendar month.
