Houston Astros (68-51) at Miami Marlins (62-57)
Game Info: Monday, August 14th, 2023 at 6:40 p.m. EST (Loan Depot Park)
Betting Odds: Astros ML (-135) - Over/Under (7.5)
Pick: Astros ML (-135)
Monday evening takes us to South Beach and beautiful Miami, Florida, for the opening game of the series between the defending World Series champions, the Houston Astros and the Miami Marlins. Both of these teams are in the middle of a playoff race, and they are both gunning for one of the three wild card spots in their respective leagues. The pitching matchup in this one. We should be solid as well and both of them are coming off of series victories over the weekend.
The Houston Astros are coming off of a series victory over their American League West division rivals, the Los Angeles Angels over the weekend. Despite losing a close game and Sunday afternoons finale, two fantastic performances in the opening two games of the series on Friday and Saturday was enough for them to get a three game series victory and further establish themselves within the top three of the American League wildcard picture. The defending World Series champions come into the opening game of the series with a record of 68-51 through their first 119 games of the 2023 Major League Baseball season.
Framber Valdez is expected to get the ball in the opening game of the series and he is having a solid season thus far. With the arrival of Justin Verlander, back in Houston, Valdez can comfortably establish himself back into the role of a quality number two starter instead of having all the pressure of being an ace on his shoulders coming down the final stretch of the season. He comes into this game with nine victories to his name this season, and he will be looking to break the double digit win mark with another quality start here on Monday night on the road in Miami.
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It was a solid start with a 2023 Major League Baseball regular season for the Miami Marlins. However, since coming out of the All-Star break, they have been one of the worst teams in all of baseball, and they have been struggling to find the footing that had them firmly established in the National League wildcard race at one point. They will be looking to recover in the opening game of the series against the defending World Series champions, after coming off of a successful weekend against the New York Yankees, where they kept it off for a walk off, ninth-inning by putting five runs on the board on Sunday afternoon. Despite their two wins against the New York Yankees, they have lost eight out of their last 10 games on the season and they still have a long way to go if they want to get themselves back into the playoff picture.
Braxton Garrett will take the mound for the Miami Marlins in the opening game of this series. He comes into Monday night's game at home with six victories to his name this season, and he will be looking to pick up his seventh victory of the season here against the Houston Astros. Miami comes into this game just barely hovering above .500 after a couple of lengthy, losing streaks, have put them on the brink of having a losing record at multiple points throughout the last few weeks. They currently have a record of 62-57 through the first 119 games of the 2023 Major League Baseball season. They will be looking to pick up their third consecutive victory of this homestand with a victory here on Monday night against Houston.
Betting trends to consider in this matchup:
- Houston is 35-25 on the road this season
- Houston is 19-14 as a road favorite this season
- Miami is 9-10 as a home underdog this season
This game should be an exciting matchup between two very solid teams, and two very solid starting pitchers. But in the end I have to give the advantage to the Houston Astros as I look for them to pick up the victory in the opening game of the series against the Miami Marlins on Monday night on the road in Miami. As I look for Framber Valdez to out pitch Braxton Garrett and for defending World Series champions to grab a much-needed victory here on Monday night.
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