Astros are MLB Betting Favorites on the Road Against the Indians

Astros are MLB Betting Favorites on the Road Against the Guardians

Written by on April 24, 2017

The Houston Astros make just one visit to Cleveland this regular season and that series begins on Tuesday night. However, I believe these teams will each win their respective divisions and thus could play again in October. The Astros will be road MLB betting favorites Tuesday behind their ace.

Houston at Cleveland MLB Betting Pick, Prediction & Game Info

When: Tuesday, April 25, 6:10 PM ET Where: Progressive Field, Cleveland Probable pitchers (away/home): Dallas Keuchel/Josh Tomlin TV: MLB Extra Innings Stream: MLB.tv Radio: Houston / Cleveland Opening MLB Lines: Astros favored by TBA

Why Bet On Houston?

The Astros come in with a comfortable AL West lead and have dropped just one series all year. They come in having won two of three in Tampa Bay over the weekend. It was 6-4 in 10 innings in Sunday’s finale. Brian McCann and Yuli Gurriel both had RBI singles in the 10th inning, and the Astros rallied from an early four-run deficit. The Astros had tied it at 4 on pinch-hitter Evan Gattis’ sacrifice fly off closer Alex Colome, who was bidding for a two-inning save, in the ninth. Ken Giles worked a scoreless 10th inning to earn his fifth save Sunday. The hard-throwing right-hander has looked sharp in four straight appearances after fighting through a rough stretch. Outfielder Jake Marisnick was lifted from Sunday’s game after experiencing concussion symptoms. Marisnick slammed hard into the outfield wall after making a catch. He initially stayed in but apparently wasn’t feeling quite right. Fellow OF George Springer had his major-league leading streak of playing in 205 consecutive games end because of left hamstring discomfort. He was hurt running out a grounder Saturday and is day to day. “It’s a bummer for him, and I was proud of him because at the beginning of his career he had to answer so many questions about his injuries,” Manager AJ Hinch said. “And then last season he played in every game.” It’s ace lefty Dallas Keuchel (3-0, 0.96), the 2015 Cy Young winner, here. Keuchel is pitching like the guy he was two years ago, not the one who struggled in 2016. He allowed only one run on eight hits and a walk while striking out seven over seven innings in last Wednesday’s 5-1 win over the Angels. It was vintage Keuchel, as he threw 65 of 99 pitches for strikes and induced three double plays to snuff out any offensive momentum the Angels built. The lefty now has a 0.79 WHIP and 22:6 K:BB through 28 innings. He has gone seven innings in all four starts.

Why Bet On Cleveland?

As of Monday, Cleveland is tied for first in the AL Central with the Tigers. The Tribe have won back-to-back series. They had a five-game winning streak snapped on Sunday in a 6-2 loss at the White Sox. Francisco Lindor homered for Cleveland. Lindor also singled, finishing the afternoon 2-for- 4. He’s now hitting .315/.373/.616 with five homers and 12 RBIs. He didn’t hit his fifth home run of 2016 until June 4 The Indians entered the game with a total of seven errors on the season, but had three on Sunday in a sloppy performance. “It makes it hard when you’re playing like that,” manager Terry Francona said. “We didn’t finish some plays. We kicked around the ball a little bit.” It’s struggling right-hander Josh Tomlin (1-2, 11.68) on the mound here. He does come off his best start of the season, allowing three runs and seven hits over six innings vs. Minnesota. Tomlin began the 2017 season slowly, allowing 13 earned runs in his first two starts. The rough start is reminiscent of last August, when Tomlin turned in an 11.48 ERA and found himself back in the bullpen at the start of September. The Indians are hoping what follows now is also similar to last year. Tomlin was back in the rotation down the stretch last summer and corrected his issues, posting a 1.69 ERA over his last five regular-season outings. He then pitched well deep into the postseason.

Houston at Cleveland MLB Betting Pick: Houston Astros

You can’t bet against the Astros with the way Kuechel is throwing right now.