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The Houston Astros and Baltimore Orioles get set to open a three-game series at Minute Maid Park on Monday night. It’s time to continue our MLB odds series and make a Orioles-Astros prediction and pick.
Houston has been the best team in the Majors over the past few weeks as they're 12-2 in their last 14 games. They are coming off of a split series against the Tigers over the weekend and will look to get back to their dominant ways against the reeling Orioles. Baltimore is 1-19 over their last 20 road games and will have their hands full in Houston for the next three games.
Here’s how sportsbooks have set the opening Orioles-Astros odds.
MLB Odds: Orioles-Astros Odds
Baltimore Orioles +1.5 (+142)
Houston Astros -1.5 (-162)
Over 9.5 Runs (-107)
Under 9.5 Runs (-113)
Why The Orioles Could Cover The Spread
The Baltimore Orioles are looking like the worst team in all of baseball and at this point, it doesn't seem very close. The Orioles are now 1-8 in their last nine games following their 5-2 defeat against the Blue Jays on Sunday. Baltimore is 12-28 and 1-19 over their last 20 road games this season. They have also lost 11 of their last 12 games when playing on the road against Houston.
The Orioles score 3.92 runs per game and just 3.50 runs on the road this season. They have scored 26 runs during the last nine games and 13 of those came during a two-game stretch. They were shutout by the Astros just last week and scored three runs during that three-game series. The Orioles allow a whopping 5.51 runs per game, which won't bode well against the best offensive club in baseball.
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Baltimore will turn to right-hander Thomas Eshelman for the series opener. Eshelman's first two starts have been complete opposites as he delivered a solid debut with one run on three hits against the Blue Jays. He followed that start up with a horrible outing against the Astros last week. The right-hander allowed six runs on eight hits in four innings of work in the loss.
Why The Astros Could Cover The Spread
The Houston Astros have been the best club in the month of June despite dropping two out of three against the Tigers over the weekend. Houston's 11-game winning streak was snapped on Friday and the Astros are now 19-6 this month. They were defeated in walk-off fashion on Sunday and will look to bounce back in a big way against the underwhelming Orioles. They outscored Baltimore by 23 runs during their three-game sweep just last week.
Houston has scored 5.67 runs per game this season, which is the best mark in the Majors. They also lead the league in hits per game and strikeout at the lowest rate in baseball. The Astros scored 26 runs against the Orioles last week including two double-digit performances. The pitching staff has been top 10 in the league as well and has allowed just under four runs per game at home this season.
The Astros will turn to right-hander Zach Greinke for the series opener. Greinke is 8-2 with a 3.56 ERA through 16 starts this season. He went through a bit of rough spell earlier this month, but recovered well in his last start against the Orioles. The veteran right-hander allowed just one run in 7.1 innings of work against Baltimore back on June 22nd.
Final Orioles-Astros Prediction & Pick
There is no sugarcoating this pick. Take the Houston Astros with extreme confidence. This team is by far the best in baseball at the plate and Zach Greinke should have no problem dealing against a horrible lineup. The Astros have the best run differential in baseball and the Orioles have the worst run differential in baseball. Houston destroyed Eshelman last week and should have no problem replicating that performance at home. The Astros are 24-5 in their last 29 meeting with the Orioles.
FINAL PICK: Houston Astros -1.5 (-162)
