The Astros make the trip to New York to face the Yankees! These two teams are heading in different directions with the Yankees playing very well and the Astros struggling at times this season. Our MLB odds series has our Astros-Yankees prediction, odds, and pick for Thursday.

The Astros have opened this season struggling. They have a 12-23 record and have lost three straight games heading into this spot. Despite their struggles, their offense has been nothing short of great with a top-three batting average as a team in the league. Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker, Jeremy Pena, Yainer Diaz, and Yordan Alvarez have been great for Houston behind the plate. The issue is all on the mound and they are ranked 27th in the MLB. Justin Verlander, Ronel Blanco, and Framber Valdez have stood out on a struggling staff, but Javier is currently injured. The Astros have the talent, but they can not figure out their pitching and the wins are not going to come until that happens.

The Yankees have come out of the gate extremely hot with a 24-13 record. They are the third-best team in the AL only behind the Orioles and the Guardians. Their bats are in the top 10 of the MLB. They are also second in the league in pitching behind only the Red Sox and the Mariners. The Yankees have been great this season and have been having a great turnaround from last year. Juan Soto is a difference maker they added in the offseason to go with Anthony Rizzo, Aaron Judge, and Anthony Volpe behind the plate. Nestor Cortes, Marcus Stroman, Clarke Schmidt, and Carlos Rodon have also been very good on the mound for New York. The Yankees have been great and get a matchup against their arch-nemesis the Astros, but the matchup has lost some luster with how much the Astros are struggling.

Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Astros-Yankees Odds

Houston Astros: +1.5 (-184)

Moneyline: +116

New York Yankees: -1.5 (+152)

Moneyline: -134

Over: 8.5 (-105)

Under: 8.5 (-115)

How to Watch Astros vs. Yankees

Time: 5:05 pm ET

TV: Space City Home Network / YES Network

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Astros Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Astros are putting Ronel Blanco on the mound where he has a 3-0 record, a 2.09 ERA, and a 0.96 WHIP. Blanco has allowed nine runs on 21 hits with 16 walks and 36 strikeouts through 38.2 innings so far this season. In his six appearances for Houston, the Astros are 5-1. In his last start, he pitched 6.0 innings and allowed three runs on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts in a Houston win. Blanco has been the best pitcher for the Astros on the mound, but he gets a tough matchup against a very good Yankees offense behind the plate.

The offense for the Astros has been one of the best in the MLB so far this season. They are third in batting average at .255 after they finished last season with a team batting average of the same. Jose Altuve and Kyle Tucker lead the Astros in almost every important batting category. Altuve leads the team in batting average at .336, in OBP at .399, and in total hits at 48. Tucker also leads the way in home runs at 10 and then in RBI at 24. At least 10 Astros have hit a minimum of one home run. Two players are also tied for second in home runs at seven. This offense has had to carry them this season and that will be no different against the Yankees, who have been great on the mound overall and we will see that again with Marcus Stroman on the mound.

Why The Yankees Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Yankees are going with Marcus Stroman on the mound where he has a 2-1 record, a 3.41 ERA, and a 1.43 WHIP. Stroman has allowed 17 runs on 33 hits with 20 walks and 35 strikeouts through 37 innings. He has appeared in seven games and the Yankees have gone 5-2 in those games. In his last start, he pitched 5.1 innings and allowed one run on three hits with five walks and three strikeouts in a Yankees win. This is still a tough matchup because the Astros have been so good behind the plate.

The biggest key for the Yankees is going to be their offense, especially after last year. They are ranked eighth in the MLB in team batting average at .249 after finishing last season with a .227 batting average. Eleven Yankees have hit at least one home run and four of those Yankees have hit at least five. Juan Soto has been the key, leading the way in most batting categories. He leads the way in batting average at .329, in home runs at eight, in RBI at 28, in OBP at .432, and in total hits at 46. This is going to be a tough matchup because of how good Blanco has been able to be on the mound.

Final Astros-Yankees Prediction & Pick

The Yankees are the better team and playing at home, but the Astros are putting Ronel Blanco on the mound and he has been the best part of the Astros pitching staff this season. Blanco is a better option than Stroman for the Yankees and then the Astros also have the better offense behind the plate when compared to the Yankees. Expect the Astros to not just cover, but win outright on the road.

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Final Astros-Yankees Prediction & Pick: Astros +1.5 (-184)