Subscribe
Follow Us
A thrilling contest between two of the premier teams in the American League will take place as the pesky Houston Astros will look to snap the New York Yankees' dominant home winning streak. Join us for our MLB odds series, where our Astros-Yankees prediction and pick will be made.
After winning yet another series by taking two of three out on the road in Tampa, the Yankees will be faced with another test as the Astros head to town to spoil their homecoming. New York will send out one of their more efficient pitchers on the year in RHP Jameson Taillon, who has compiled a sparkling 8-1 record to go along with a 2.70 ERA.
At 43-25, Houston is no stranger to winning ballgames, as they have won six of their last seven contests and are coming off of a short two-game sweep of the Mets. Eager to take advantage of another New York team, the Astros will call upon southpaw Framber Valdez and his 7-3 mark with a 2.78 ERA.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Astros-Yankees MLB odds.
MLB Odds: Astros-Yankees Odds
Houston Astros: +1.5 (-182)
New York Yankees: -1.5 (+150)
Over: 8.5 (-104)
Under: 8.5 (-118)
*Watch MLB Games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)
Why The Astros Could Cover the Spread
Now eighteen games above the .500 mark and leading the AL West by ten games, Houston knows a thing or two about how to weather the storm of a 162-game season and look supreme doing it. Similar to the Yankees, the Astros double-digit division lead has come in the form of a balanced attack inside the batter's box and on the rubber. Additionally, the Astros appear to be the perfect team to snag an all but rare victory out at Yankees Stadium with their 23-14 road record.
While the Astros haven't always lived up to expectations at the plate this season with the 18th-most runs scored in the league, the man that may end up being responsible for drowning the ‘Yanks could be the left-fielder in Yordan Alvarez. Alvarez leads the club in most hitting categories with his .315 batting average, 21 home runs, and 51 runs batted in. Obviously playing at an All-Star type level, this dangerous threat with the bat in his hands presents a unique challenge for New York in the fact that Alvarez is a solid contact hitter but also displays the power to change the game with one swing of the bat.
Pitching has been the name of the game for the Astros this season. The third-best mark in team ERA at an impressive 3.04 and has gotten numerous quality starts from starters that have also relieved pressure off of the bullpen. Throughout his career against active Yankees hitters, Valdez has surrendered a .233 average while striking out New York batsmen 13.3% of the time throughout his career. If Valdez can be at the top of his game on Thursday, then Houston may in fact bring the Yankees' 14-game home winning streak to an end.
Why The Yankees Could Cover the Spread
At a staggering 51-18 record 69 games into the regular season, the Yankees have forced opposing teams to play the perfect, all-around game in order to defeat them. While most teams have not been up to the challenge, especially when visiting Yankee Stadium, the Astros will be one of the more rounded squads that New York will have faced at home this season. While the Yankees led the season series 4-2 last year, New York will need to continue their dominance by jumping on Houston early and silencing their bats whenever they get an opportunity to do so.
With each side being top pitching units throughout the entire league, the Yankees have a major advantage over the Astros in the hitting department. In fact, left-handed pitching starters that have squared off with New York have gone winless, as the Yankees are 9-0 against southpaws at home with a 1.9 plus margin of victory during those contests. This bodes well for the ‘Yanks and may be disastrous for Valdez, as the New York offense is stacked with right-handed hitters that all hit very effectively versus lefties. With the top slugging percentage in the majors at .442, keeping the ball in the yard could prove to be too difficult for Houston.
Just when you thought the offensive prowess of the Yankees was good enough to cover the spread on Thursday, one look at the pitching statistics throughout 2022 will leave the average baseball fan speechless. With an elite ERA at 2.90 along with the top ranking when it comes to batting average against and WHIP, a combined effort from Taillon and company surely have what it takes to prove to the Astros just how deadly they can be in front of their home faithful.
Final Astros-Yankees Prediction & Pick
Christmas has certainly come early for Yankees fans, as their insane start to the season has them dreaming of a 28th World Series championship come October. However, the Astros have been playing exceptional baseball over the past week and will be motivated to hand the ‘Yanks a rare home defeat. This one should be as advertised and will come down to which bullpen implodes when it matters most.
Final Astros-Yankees Prediction & Pick: Astros +1.5 (-182)
