Houston Astros (62-47) at New York Yankees (56-52)
Game Info: Thursday, August 3rd, 2023 at 7:15 p.m. EST (Yankee Stadium)
Betting Odds: Astros ML (-112) - Over/Under (9)
Pick: Astros ML (-112)
Thursday night takes us to one of the most historic ballparks in all of major league baseball as the defending World Series champions open up a series with the New York Yankees in the Bronx. Both of these teams have very different trajectories this season as Houston is looking to defend their World Series title in New York is barely scraping by and in serious danger of missing the playoffs this season. This is the first of a four game weekend series that could go a long way in determining the playoff fate for several teams in the American League.
The Houston Astros have plenty of momentum coming into the opening game of this series against the New York Yankees. As they are coming off of a three game sweep of the Cleveland Guardians throughout the week. The middle game of that three game series was historic as Framber Valdez threw a no hitter against Cleveland to help put the final statement on what was a successful week for the Houston Astros thus far. Now they will face an awfully familiar opponent, one that they have plenty of history against, especially when it comes to the American League Championship Series and American League Divisional Series. Houston will be looking to get this series started off on the right foot as they look to add to the New York Yankees recent run of miserable play since coming out of the All-Star break.
The Houston Astros have spent the majority of the regular season sitting behind the Texas Rangers in second place in the American League West division. However, since coming out of the All-Star break, they have been nipping at the heels of the Rangers, and if they continue this solid run and play, they will almost surely pass up Texas before the final month of the season arrives. It is certainly going to be a two horse race in the American League West division throughout the remainder of the regular season. As Houston comes into this game fifteen games above .500 with 62 victories in their first 109 games of 2023 Major League Baseball season.
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The New York Yankees have been struggling since coming out of the All-Star break, and it doesn’t help matters that they play in the hardest division in all of Major League Baseball this season. That is because they are currently sitting in last place of the division, despite having a winning record, and they would be within playoff contention if they played in any other division in the American League. This has been a theme that has haunted the Yankees for some time now as injuries to key players continue to pile up year after year at the worst possible time. They have been very underwhelming this season, and if they miss the playoffs and officially go 14 years without a World Series victory or appearance changes will likely be made in the big apple.
The Yankees come into this game four games above .500 with 56 victories in their first 108 games of the 2023 Major League Baseball season. They are coming off of a series where they lost two out of three games to their American League East division rivals, the Tampa Bay Rays. However, they did manage to pick up a victory in the finale of the series on Wednesday to salvage some of their momentum, as they look to get their season back on track coming down the stretch run over the final two months of the regular season. They will have plenty of work to do as they didn’t do much at the trade deadline and it will be no easy task tracking down Baltimore, Toronto, Tampa Bay, or even their hated rivals, the Boston Red Sox.
Betting trends to consider in this matchup:
- Houston is 31-22 on the road this season
- Houston is 17-11 as a road favorite this season
- New York is 25-30 after a win this year; Houston 33-28
With Cristian Javier taking the mound for the opening game of the series, I have to give the edge to the Houston Astros here on Thursday night, despite them being on the road in Yankee Stadium. I expect Houston to grab a comfortable victory over a struggling New York team. Clarke Schmidt is expected to get the start for the Yankees in this one and he has had plenty of trouble against solid lineups throughout the year, and I expect Houston to put a crooked number on the board as well.
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