The Houston Astros take on the Los Angeles Angels. Check out our MLB odds series for our Astros Angels prediction and pick.

Luis Garcia starts for the Astros, while Shohei Ohtani gets the call for the Angels.

Luis Garcia has a 4.14 ERA. He has — in recent weeks — been a six-inning, four-run pitcher, give or take an out. Garcia will not be a starter in the Astros' postseason rotation, barring an injury to one of the men in front of him. He will provide middle relief. The value he has given Houston lies in his ability to eat innings. Even if he does give up four runs, being able to pitch six innings is important because it prevents the bullpen from being overworked. Garcia has averaged at least 5 1/3 innings per start in each month of the season. In August, three of his five starts went six full innings. Whereas other back-end rotation starters fail to pitch five full innings in a majority of their starts, Garcia goes deeper into games. He isn't a special pitcher, but getting 16 or 17 outs instead of 13 or 14 on a regular basis adds up to a lot of outs over the course of the season.

Shohei Ohtani has made a special piece of history this year. The history of baseball is more than 150 years old. In all that time, not one man had ever won 10 games as a pitcher and hit 30 home runs as a batter in the same season. Many will recall that Babe Ruth was a great pitcher and hitter, but his years as an elite pitcher and hitter generally did not overlap. The one true exception was in the 1919 season, when Ruth won nine games and hit 29 home runs. Ohtani's brilliance has, in a very clear way, eclipsed Babe Ruth — not on an overall career-long level, but certainly within the course of one season. Doing something which has never been done before in the entire history of Major League Baseball is an accomplishment which stands on its own and speaks for itself.

Aaron Judge will almost certainly win the American League MVP Award, but Ohtani certainly has a very strong case to make, even though Judge has been phenomenal in 2022.

Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Astros-Angels MLB odds.

MLB Odds: Astros-Angels Odds

Houston Astros: +1.5 (-200)

Los Angeles Angels: -1.5 (+164)

Over: 8 (-110)

Under: 8 (-110)

Why The Astros Could Cover the Spread

The Astros are a far better team than the Angels. They won on Friday, 4-2. Houston clearly looks like the favorite in the American League. The consistency of the Astros' pitching sets them apart. Even though Luis Garcia is not the best Houston has to offer, he has shown at times that he can pitch seven innings and give up three runs. That hasn't been his usual pitching line, but occasionally he finds a higher level. Shohei Ohtani is a superb pitcher, but he hasn't been airtight this season. If the Astros can forge a 3-3 tie heading into the seventh or eighth inning, they have the advantage in a battle of the bullpens.

Why The Angels Could Cover the Spread

Shohei Ohtani, when he pitches, gives the Angels a much better chance to win, at least over the past two and a half months. He did struggle early in the season, and he has endured some brutal losses this year, but for the most part, Ohtani has been the pitcher the Angels hoped he would be. If he pitches at the level he has displayed for most of the summer, the Angels have a very good chance to win, especially since Luis Garcia is the weak link in the Astros' starting rotation. If the Halos can score four runs against Garcia, Ohtani should be able to make it stand up.

Final Astros-Angels Prediction & Pick

If ever there was a pitching matchup which indicated that you could take a bad team such as the Angels over an elite team such as the Astros, this is it. Ohtani versus Garcia is a matchup where the Angels, not the Astros, should be trusted.

Final Astros-Angels Prediction & Pick: Angels -1.5