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The Houston Astros will attempt to complete the sweep and seal their fourth trip to the World Series in five years as they face the New York Yankees in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series. It's an elimination game, and time to check out our MLB odds series and make an Astros-Yankees Game 4 prediction and pick.
The Astros blanked the Yankees 5-0 in Game 3 of the ALCS. Subsequently, it now puts them one win away from the World Series. Chas McCormick started the scoring in the second inning while blasting a shot to right field. It was his second home run of the playoffs while giving the Astros a 2-0 lead. The Astros had a 3-0 lead in the sixth after a sacrifice fly when Christian Vasquez came to the plate. Then, he clapped a single to left-center field, driving in two runners to give the Astros their final cushion.
Christian Javier pitched admirably, tossing 5 1/3 scoreless innings while allowing one hit, striking out five, and walking three. Likewise, the Houston bullpen threw 3 2/3 innings of shutout baseball while allowing two hits. Gerritt Cole tossed five innings while allowing five runs (three earned) on seven hits. Unfortunately, there was no run support for Cole.
Lance McCullers will take the mound today for the Astros. McCullers is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in the 2022 playoffs. Moreover, he tossed six scoreless innings while allowing two hits and striking out seven in the American League Division Series with the Mariners. McCullers is 2-2 with a 2.56 ERA and one save in 17 career playoff appearances. Significantly, he has faced the Yankees in the playoffs, tossing 10 innings while allowing one earned run (on a home run) on three hits while striking out nine over two appearances in the 2017 ALCS.
Nestor Cortes takes the hill for the Yankees. Cortes is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA in the 2022 playoffs. Substantially, he pitched well in the ALDS against the Cleveland Guardians. Cortes tossed five innings in Game 2 of the ALDS while allowing two earned runs and six hits and then tossed five innings while allowing one earned run on three hits in Game 5 of the ALDS.
The Astros are 6-0 in the 2022 playoffs. Ultimately, the Yankees must find a way to hand them their first loss.
Here are the Astros-Yankees MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Astros-Yankees Game 4 Odds
Houston Astros: +1.5 (-220) ML (+104)
New York Yankees: -1.5 (+180) ML (-122)
Over: 6.5 (-118)
Under: 6.5 (-104)
Why The Astros Could Cover The Spread
The Astros are succeeding because of fantastic pitching. Ultimately, the win on Saturday was the second time they have shut down an offense. The Astros have hit in the best spots and shut down a potent offense. Now, they must do it one more time.
Jose Altuve finally got his first hit of the playoffs. Unfortunately, Yordan Alvares went 0 for 4 from the plate. Alex Bregman went 2 for 4 with a run, while Kyle Tucker and Yuli Gurriel each went 1 for 4. Likewise, McCormick's hit was the early dagger for the Astros.
The Astros have dominated the Yankees throughout this series. Consequently, their bullpen has continued to dominate the Yankees, not allowing big bats like Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Anthony Rizzo to do any damage against them.
The Astros will cover the spread if McCullers can continue the hot pitching. Likewise, the bullpen must continue to fool the big bats at the plate.
Why The Yankees Could Cover The Spread
The Yankees are staring at the abyss, and things look bleak. Ultimately, anyone could have seen this happening back in July. The Yankees have Judge, Stanton, and Rizzo. However, they are all inconsistent, shown over the last few months. The Yankees need to find their offense quickly to stay alive. Likewise, they cannot allow the Astros to tee off on them.
Rizzo went 0 for 3 on Saturday, while Judge went 0 for 4. Additionally, Stanton went 1 for 4 while Gleyber Torres went 0 for 3. Matt Carpenter went 1 for 4. Moreover, the Yankees left seven runners on base. Can the Yankees finally get some offense going? Consequently, their ineffective offense and mediocre pitching have put them in this hole.
The Yankees will cover the spread if they can build an early lead and get to McCullers early. Also, they must avoid mistakes to big hitters that can take them out of the contest.
Final Astros-Yankees Game 4 Prediction & Pick
The Astros need one more win. However, the Yankees are too deep of a team to go down that easily. The point spread is ridiculous, so the money line is the sensible choice. Expect the Yanks to eke out a win and keep their season alive.
Final Astros-Yankees Game 4 Prediction & Pick: New York Yankees ML (-122)