Cleveland Guardians vs Houston Astros Prediction, Pick and Preview, August 4 (8/4): MLB

Cleveland Guardians vs Houston Astros Prediction, Pick and Preview, August 4 (8/4): MLB

Credit: photo by  Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports

 

Odds

Time 7:10 p.m. EST
Guardians money line +145
Guardians run line +1.5 (-118)
Astros money line -200
Astros run line -1.5 (-115)
Over / under 7.5

 

Key stats

  Cleveland Guardians Houston Astros
Record 54-50 68-38
Home / road record 27-20 34-21
Last 10 record 6-4 4-6
Streak W3 L2
Over / under record 52-46-6 37-63-5
Runs / game 4.40 4.42
Runs allowed / game 4.27 3.34

 

Preview

The Houston Astros and the Cleveland Guardians will meet again to play a 4-game series at the Progressive Field. The Guardians won their last series against the Arizona Dbacks while the Astros lost 2 of 3 times vs Red Sox. Houston won the last series vs Cleveland 2-1 at home.

Cleveland Guardians

The Guardians get here with a 54-50 record and have won 4 of their last 6 games. They're averaging 4.40 runs and batting for .252 AVG, 453 runs scored in 885 hits and 82 home runs, ranking #16 in offense, behind the Houston Astros. Jose Ramirez leads the team batting for .285 avg, 21 home runs and 86 RBI. 

Defensively they are allowing 4.27 runs per game and ranking #15 in the league. Shane Bieber leads the pitching staff with a 3.39 ERA, 126 strikeouts and 6 wins recorded with the Guardians.

Probable Pitcher:

Zach Plesac (2-9, 4.33 ERA) will be on the mound for the Guardians in the 1st game of the series. Plesac suffered the loss against the Rays on Saturday after surrendering five earned runs on seven hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts in five innings. He is 1-1 with an ERA of 10.24 and 8 strikeouts in 2 appearances versus the Astros in his career.

Houston Astros

The Astros get here with a 68-38 record and have lost 3 of their last 5 games. They're averaging 4.45 runs and batting for .240 AVG, 464 runs scored in 836 hits and 146 home runs, ranking #15 in offense in the league behind the San Diego Padres. Yordan Alvarez leads the team batting for .303 avg with 30 home runs and 72 RBI. 

Defensively they are allowing 3.34 runs per game and ranking #2 in the league. Justin Verlander leads the pitching staff with a 1.81 ERA, 122 strikeouts and 14 wins recorded for the Astros.

Probable Pitcher:

Justin Verlander (14-3, 1.81 ERA) will be on the mound for the Astros in the 1st game of the series. On Friday, Verlander earned the win in an 11-1 victory over the Mariners after giving up one earned run on five hits, a walk, and five strikeouts over 7.2 innings. He has a 21-24 record with an ERA of 4.61 and 354 strikeouts in 53 appearances versus Cleveland in his career.

BETTING TRENDS

Houston are 5-0 SU in their last 5 games when playing on the road against Cleveland.

The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Houston's last 8 games against an opponent in the American League.

The total has gone OVER in 9 of Cleveland's last 13 games against an opponent in the American League.

The total has gone OVER in 5 of Cleveland's last 6 games at home.

Prediction

The Astros offense finally exploded and avoided the sweep against the Red Sox and they're going on the road against the Guardians who already beat 2 of 3 times at home. Justin Verlander will take the mound in the first game of the series who has been more than excellent allowing no more than 1 run in each of his last 6 starts. The Guardians offense continue to respond as they have scored 4.7 runs per game in the last 10 games but they'll have a tough game vs Verlander. Zach Plesac will start for the Guardians who has been up and down this season and the Guardians have lost in 4 of his last 5 starts. With Verlander on the mound the Astros are almost a guarantee so go with the Astros.

PICK: Astros -1.5 (-115)

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