Baltimore Orioles (70-42) vs Houston Astros (64-49)
Game Info: Tuesday, August 8, 2023 at 7:05 pm (Oriole Park at Camden Yards)
Grayson Rodriguez (2-3) (6.09) vs Framber Valdez (9-7) (3.07)
Betting Odds: Baltimore Orioles +105 / Houston Astros -125 --- Over/Under: 8 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Houston Astros will play the Baltimore Orioles in Game 1 of their series on Tuesday night at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. The Astros come into this series a couple of games behind the Rangers for first place in the AL West, while Baltimore is currently leading the AL East. The Orioles have played extremely well recently, but can they continue that form against an Astros team that is getting very healthy?
Astros Preview
The Houston Astros are 64-49 this season and they have won five of their last seven games. Houston is coming off of a series split with the Yankees, where they won two games and lost two games. The Astros have pitched very effectively in recent games, allowing three runs or fewer in five of their last six. The Houston pitching staff has a 3.78 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP, and a .241 opponent batting average this season. The Astros offense has scored 538 runs with a .248 batting average and a .320 on base percentage. Alex Bregman is batting .244 with 18 home runs and 70 RBI’s for the Astros. The projected starting pitcher for Houston is Framber Valdez, who is 9-7 with a 3.07 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP over 135.0 innings pitched this year.
Orioles Preview
The Baltimore Orioles are 70-42 this season and they have won four games in row. Baltimore is coming off of a series win against the Mets, where they won all three games and out scored them by a total of 19-6. The Orioles have won three series in a row, but they don’t have much room for error with the Rays in hot pursuit. The Baltimore pitching staff has a 4.04 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP, and a .245 opponent batting average. The Orioles offense has scored 554 runs with a .253 batting average and a .321 on base percentage this year. Anthony Santander is batting .256 with 20 home runs and 63 RBI’s for the Orioles. The projected starting pitcher for Baltimore is Grayson Rodriguez, who is 2-3 with a 6.09 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP over 68.0 innings pitched this season.
Baltimore Orioles Team Facts
- The Orioles have won eight of their last nine games as home underdogs against AL West opponents following a win.
- The Orioles have covered the run line in each of their last 10 games as home underdogs against AL West opponents following a win.
- The Orioles have led after 5 innings in each of their last four Tuesday night games as home underdogs.
- The Orioles have led after 3 innings in each of their last four Tuesday night games as home underdogs.
- The Orioles have led after 7 innings in each of their last eight Tuesday night games against American League opponents that held a winning record.
Houston Astros Team Facts
- The Astros have lost each of their last three games as road favourites against American League opponents following a win.
- The Astros have failed to cover the run line in seven of their last eight games as favourites following a win.
- The Astros have trailed after 5 innings in three of their last four games as road favourites against AL East opponents.
- The Astros have trailed after 7 innings in each of their last five Tuesday night games as road favourites.
- The 'Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Astros' last three night games at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Baltimore Orioles Player Prop Facts
- Anthony Santander has hit a home run in each of the Orioles' last three games against AL West opponents.
- Ramon Urias has recorded at least one hit in each of his last eight appearances at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
- Ryan Mountcastle has recorded two or more total bases in each of his last five appearances against AL opponents.
- Anthony Santander has scored a run in nine of the Orioles' last 10 games as home underdogs.
- Adley Rutschman has recorded an RBI in seven of the Orioles' last eight games.
Houston Astros Player Prop Facts
- Kyle Tucker has recorded at least one RBI in each of the Astros' last four night games.
- Yordan Alvarez has hit a home run in three of his last four appearances in night games.
- Yordan Alvarez has recorded at least one hit in each of his last six appearances in night games.
- Chas McCormick has recorded at least one total base in each of his six previous appearances at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
- Jose Altuve has scored at least one run in eight of his last nine appearances against AL opponents.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Baltimore Orioles ranks 8th in the league for slugging percentage this season (.422).
- The Baltimore Orioles ranks 8th in the league for strikeouts this season (1021).
- The Houston Astros ranks 6th in the league for strikeouts against this season (895).
- The Houston Astros ranks T6th in the league for strikeouts this season (1026).
Pick
This should be a fantastic series between two of the best teams in the American League. Houston has been getting healthier over the last few weeks and their lineup is much better than it was a few months ago. Baltimore has played some of the best baseball in the MLB over the last few weeks and they are 35-21 at home. The Orioles are starting Grayson Rodriguez, who has some bad numbers on the year, but has pitched better in recent outings. Rodriguez has allowed five earned runs in his last three starts (17.2 IP). The Astros are starting Framber Valdez, who has struggled in most of his recent starts, but did throw a no hitter in his last outing. Prior to the no hitter, Valdez allowed 15 earned runs over his previous 15 innings of work. I still don’t trust Valdez and we are getting the Orioles close to even money, so I am going to take Baltimore at home.
David’s Pick Orioles ML
AUTHOR: David Racey
Mitch's Take...
