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The New York Mets and Houston Astros finish their three-game series today. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Mets-Astros prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
Game one of the series was a complete beat down as Max Scherzer dominated. 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. Meanwhile, Francisco Lindor and Daniel Vogelback homered as part of the Mets' 14 hits. Last night, the Mets could not figure out Framber Valdez. They managed just four hits off of him while striking out nine times. The Mets did manage to score twice, but With Alex Bregman hitting a two-run home run in the third off of Verlander, it would not be enough for the Mets to win the game. Justin Verlander had his return to Houston spoiled in the loss, as he was outdueled by his former teammate.
Here are the Mets-Astros MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Mets-Astros Odds
New York Mets: +1.5 (-150)
Houston Astros: -1.5 (+125)
Over: 8.5 (-110)
Under: 8.5 (-110)
How To Watch Mets vs. Astros
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 1:10 PM ET/11:10 AM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Mets Could Cover The Spread
The return of Pete Alonso to the lineup has not gone as planned so far. Alonso is just one for 11 in his three games back, with a double, two walks, and three strikeouts. Combined with his pre-injury performance, Alonso is hitting just .133 this month, but he does have two home runs. Alonso is second in the majors with 22 home runs, even though he missed ten days here in June. The Mets need to get their power back. They are 19th in the majors in slugging, and are a middle-of-the-pack offense. They sit 15th in runs scored, 20th in batting average, and 18th in on-base percentage.
The Mets need someone to give some sort of offensive production overall. Brandon Nimmo has been driving in runs as of late and getting on base. In June he has 11 RBIs with eight walks. It gives him a .338 OBP, but he is hitting just .222. Tommy Pham is doing his part as well. He is hitting .321 on the month. He also has 14 RBIS and four home runs while scoring ten times. While those two are doing their parts, others are not. Francisco Lindo is hitting just .179. He does have ten RBIs but has struck out 17 times.
Tylor Megill heads to the mound for the Mets today. He is 6-4 with a 4.83 ERA on the season. Last time out he was stellar. He went six innings, striking out a season-high seven batters, and gave up just one run on a solo home run. This is far from the norm for Megill though. He has allowed four or more runs in three of his last five starts. He has only three starts this year in which he has given up one or fewer runs. Good news for Mets fans though is that two of the three starts in which he has given up one or fewer runs have come in June.
Why The Astros Could Cover The Spread
The Astros' offense has ground to a halt in the last six games. They have scored just 17 runs in their last six games, and last night was their first win in the group. The four runs scored was the second highest output in their last six games. Even with the struggles, the Astros are just a half-game back of the Angels and the Yankees in the wild card race. Both of those teams are currently in, so the Astros need to catch just one of them to be in a playoff position.
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. Yordan Alvarez is still out, and he is the team leader in home runs. Alex Bregman hit his tenth of the year last night. It was just his third home run of the month, and his first since June 8th. Kyle Tucker will be looking to get his power back as well. He is hitting well this month, with a .304 batting average, but he has drive in just eight runs with two long balls and five doubles.
Christian Javier will be heading to the mound today for the Astros. While he may not be considered their top pitcher with Framber Valdez on the roster, he has been amazing. Javier is 7-1 on the season with a 2.90 ERA. Javiers has been solid in his last six starts. In five of his last six srtarts, he has given up one or fewer runs while going at least five innings. In the one other start, he went five innings and gave up four runs. Even more, Javier has seemed to figure out his home run issue. In eight of his first 11 starts he gave up a home run. In his last three, he has not.
Final Mets-Astros Prediction & Pick
The Astros won last night based on their pitching. Today, they have the pitching edge again. Javier has been one of the best pitchers on this Astros staff this year. This pitching staff ranks first in ERA, second in quality starts, and eighth in WHIP. When facing a great pitcher like this, you need a solid offense that makes good contact. That is not the Mets. The Astros cover this one with ease.
Final Mets-Astros Prediction & Pick: Astros -1.5 (+125)
