With roughly 50 games remaining on the MLB scheduled slate, the race for the postseason is officially on! The Cleveland Guardians will hit the road to the Lone Star State to take on the Houston Astros in what should be a thrilling matchup! It is time to check out our MLB odds series where our Guardians-Astros prediction and pick will be revealed.

Sitting one game below the .500 mark entering play on this Tuesday with a 53-54 overall record, the good news is that the Cleveland Guardians currently trail the Twins by only one game for the AL Central lead. Despite falling flat on their faces in the 7-3 loss to Houston on Monday, Cleveland will send out RHP Gavin Williams in an attempt to get back in the win column. So far, Williams is 1-2 with a 3.35 ERA in seven games started on the year.

On the other side of things, the Astros are clicking on all cylinders and don't appear to be slowing down any time soon. Just days after putting a beat down on the Tampa Bay Rays by a score of 17-4, the Astros once again put together a splendid performance in the series-opening win over the Guardians. With an overall record of 60-47 and also knocking on the door of the top-spot in the AL West, the defending champs are not to be overlooked whatsoever. In line for the Tuesday evening start for Houston will be the southpaw in Framber Valdez who is 8-7 with a solid 3.29 ERA.

Here are the Guardians-Astros MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Guardians-Astros Odds

Cleveland Guardians: +1.5 (-132)

Houston Astros: -1.5 (+110)

Over: 8 (-120)

Under: 8 (-102)

How To Watch Guardians vs. Astros

TV: AT&T SportsNet Southwest/Bally Sports Great Lakes

Stream: MLB.TV

Time: 8:10 ET/5:10 PT

*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why The Guardians Could Cover The Spread

For starters, the main priority that the Guardians need to take into consideration in order to cover the spread will be to make starter Gavin Williams as comfortable as possible. Although Williams has been winless in his previous three starts, he has happened to pitch to the tune of a 2.08 ERA during that span. Without a doubt, facing off with a red-hot hitting team like the Astros on the mound will be a difficult challenge, but it is quite encouraging that Williams is finding his groove with the Guardians in such a tight playoff race.

Of course, all of Williams' efforts will be for not if the offense isn't able to capitalize when needed, At first glance, Cleveland has lost three of their last fur games and the biggest reason for that has been a lack of productivity at the plate. Indeed, the Guardians have only scored five runs over that span and must have a breakout game offensively if they want a chance of playing spoiler against the Astros. As it stands, Cleveland has bottom ten statistics in total runs scored, on-base percentage, and even slugging, but they do happen to have a solid batting average as a team at .253. Be on the lookout for first-baseman Josh Naylor to continue his career year as he his hitting a remarkable .306 while also possessing the fourth-most RBIs in all of baseball with 79 of them total.

Why The Astros Could Cover The Spread

Without question, the return of Jose Altuve and Jordan Alvarez has created a spark within the clubhouse for the ‘Stros. In fact, this happened to be on full display on Monday as the dynamic duo went on with their business en route to an Alvarez three-run moonshot in the sixth inning that ultimately put the game out of reach. At full strength, this is the type of squad that instills fear into their opponents and it wouldn't be surprising if the Astros use that same tactic to gain a mental edge later tonight.

If there is one element of the game that the Astros consistently dominate in, it is the fact that they have a knack for creating chaos on the base paths. On Monday, Houston went a dominant 4-11 with RISP and seemingly never failed to capitalize getting their men to cross home plate. Believe it or not, this is a facet of the game that the Astros have only improved in this category as the season has gone on, and are now one of the league's best in making teams pay for letting hitters on-base. If Houston is going to cover the spread, then the clutch bats of the Astros will need to show up in a big way.

Lastly, bettors should not be overlooking the hurler in Framber Valdez who has possessed a flawless 4-0 record to go along with a 3.22 ERA in three starts against the Guardians. Even if the bats have a rare off-night, Valdez should have his arsenal working to perfection en route to covering the spread.

Final Guardians-Astros Prediction & Pick

With both teams fighting it out for their respective divisions, there is no doubt that each side will be giving it their all! However, the Astros are just too red-hot to be stopped at the moment as it would be wise to wager upon Houston to take care of business later this evening.

Final Guardians-Astros Prediction & Pick: Astros -1.5 (+110)