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The New York Mets took game one of the series, as they face off with the Houston Astros. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Mets-Astros prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
The Mets are sitting at 34-38 so far on the season, and have struggled as of late. They have won just four of their last 15 games. Still, they were great last night. Francisco Lindor hit a home run and drove in five. Daniel Vogelbach added a home run as well and drove in three. Overall, the Mets had 14 hits and drove in 11 runs. They went 7-14 with runners in scoring position and dominated the Astros pitching. Meanwhile, Max Scherzer was amazing. He went eight innings and gave up just four hits. He gave up a solo home run in the seventh to Yanier Diaz, but that was the only run he gave up all night. Tonight, they will be hoping for more of the same as they try to move up in the wild-card standings.
Here are the Mets-Astros MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Mets-Astros Odds
New York Mets: +1.5 (-170)
Houston Astros: -1.5 (+140)
Over: 7.5 (+100)
Under: 7.5 (-122)
How To Watch Mets vs. Astros
TV: SNY/ATTH
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 8:10 PM ET/5:10 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Mets Could Cover The Spread
The Mets need to score like they did last night, and with Pete Alonso back in the lineup, that could be a possibility. Alonso is second in the majors with 22 home runs, even though he missed ten days here in June. He has not been stellar since his come back though. Alonso has just one hit and one walk in the two games while getting to the plate nine times. He does have a double in there but has struck out four times. If he can get back to the power swinging he did in May, where he hit ten home runs in the month, the Mets could see a jump in the offense.
It would be desperately needed if the Mets want to get back into the playoff race. The offense has been middle-of-the-road overall. They sit 14th in runs scored, 20th in batting average, 17th in on-base percentage, and 15th in slugging. Still, the Mets' offense can survive if they have pop in their bats. Last night was an example. Daniel Vogelbach hit his second home run of the month. He has two this month, and both have come in Mets wins. When he has hit a home run this year, the Mets are 3-1 overall. Francisco Lindor is also starting to show some power. He hit a home run in the win as well, and it is his second in as many days. He had four home runs this month but is hitting just .189.
On the hill for the Mets will be Justin Verlander, who received a nice tribute from the Astros on Monday. He is 2-3 on the season with a 4.40 ERA. His last start was one of the best of his season though. Verlander went six innings and gave up just three hits while striking out six. He did give up a run and did not factor into the decision. This year, Verlander has five outings where he has given up two or fewer runs. In the other three, he gave up five or more.
Why The Astros Could Cover The Spread
The Astros' offense has ground to a halt in the last five games. They have scored just 13 runs in their last five games, all losses. Even worse for the offense, seven of those runs came in one game, while they scored just one run in three of them. The Astros currently find themselves on the outside looking in for the playoff picture, but they sit just a half-game back from the struggling Yankees. Overall, the offense has been a lot like the Mets, on average. They are tied for 16th in runs scored this year, with an 18th-ranked batting average and a 17th-ranked slugging percentage.
The Astros do not have as many longball threats, but Yordan Alvarez has done a solid job of providing some power. He is tied for 9th in the majors with 17 home runs. Alvarez has been on the IL with an oblique injury, but he did do some light work on Monday. It is unlikely he will be back for this game, but there is a small possibility. In his stead, Alex Bregman will be hoping to provide some power. He is second on the team with nine home runs this year. He has not hit one since June 8th though and only has two this month. Still, he has a triple and two doubles, while he has driven in 11 runs.
The Astros may not need a lot of run support though. They are sending their best pitcher to the mound today in Framber Valdez. Valdez is 6-5 on the season with a 2.27 ERA. This month he has been solid. In three starts he has pitched 19 innings while striking out 18 batters. He has given up four runs, but three of them came in one game. With that, he lost the game as the Astros could only score two against the Blue Jays. This year in four of his five losses, he has given up three or fewer runs, but not received enough run support. In those losses, the Astros scored a combined eight runs. In the other loss, he gave up five runs, but only one was earned as his defense let him down.
Final Mets-Astros Prediction & Pick
The Astros have been struggling heavily. There is nothing better to end struggles than having your best pitcher go to the mound. Still, for as good as he has been, if he cannot get any run support, it will not go his way. With that, do not expect the Astros to score a lot of runs tonight. If a team cannot score runs, it is difficult to cover a 1.5-run spread.
Final Mets-Astros Prediction & Pick: Mets +1.5 (-170)
