Baseball is a crazy sport. Who would've thought just a few days ago that the two teams favored to win the World Series dating back weeks, if not months, would both be on the ropes facing elimination on Monday. The Kansas City Royals have excelled in these do-or-die situations, but they've got a really hot Houston Astros unit ready to finish them off at home on Monday.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Lance McCullers is a really interesting man to follow in these playoffs. He's just barely 22-years old heading into his first playoff start, and it was an amazing journey to reach this point. He wasn't supposed to throw more than about 150 innings this year between the big leagues and the minors, but here he is throwing the biggest game the Astros have played in over a decade even though he has well-exceeded his projected innings limit.
We do have a real concern in live betting about McCullers though, and it has nothing to do with his age. He just didn't pitch that well this year against teams which either did make the playoffs or were right in the thick of the fight the last week of the season. Since September 30, McCullers led his team to an 0-5 record against the Angels, Rangers and Twins, and his ERA was a good, yet not spectacular 3.48 in that run. That might be a fine and dandy ERA for the regular season in most spots, but here in the playoffs, allowing one run every three innings hands you a loss, which is why live bettors have to be eager to pull the trigger against the rookie.
Yordano Ventura was just a rookie last year when he was in the playoffs, and he pitched incredibly well. However, he also threw two innings back in Game 1 and was tattooed for four hits and three runs, and he was fortunate after loading the bases in the first inning with no one out to be limited to three runs allowed.
Live bettors should keep in mind that Ventura had an 8-2 record in day games this year, and for whatever reason, he seemed to look and feel a little more comfortable on the road down the stretch than he did at home. That's probably why Ned Yost is going to be counting on him to be coming back in this game on short rest.
ADVANCED STATS
The Astros are going to slug the ball and strike out a lot, and that has really held true to form here in this postseason. So far, Houston has fanned 42 times in just four games, but it also has 11 extra base hits, six of which have been home runs and three of which have come off of the bat of Colby Rasmus.
If you're live betting on Houston, you've got to be prepared for a lot of quick 1-2-3 innings with two or three strikeouts, but you also have to know that Ventura, who allowed batters to slug .378 against him in 2015, is capable of allowing big innings, too.
TALKING BULLPENS
The only good news we'll give Kansas City about the fact that it has lost two of these first three games is that its pen should be well-rested. Yes, Greg Holland is done for the year, but Wade Davis has looked lights out, and the combination of he, Ryan Madson and Kelvin Herrera essentially make games a lot shorter.
All three of these men are big strikeout pitchers, so you can bet if Ventura can just figure out how to get through six frames, the big boys are going to be coming out to pitch, and Yost probably won't be afraid to throw some of them two innings if need be with an off day coming if the Royals win to force Game 5 back at Kauffman Stadium.
The baseball betting odds for this game were first available at BookMaker Sportsbook. The Houston Astros were favored at -140 along with a total of 8. BookMaker is going to have multiple betting options available for this baseball matchup. Live wagering during commercials offers and adjusted moneyline, individual inning run totals and next hitter results. Log in, and start gambling during the game now!
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! Game 4 of the ALDS between the Houston Astros and the Kansas City Royals will start at 1:05 p.m. ET on Monday, October 12, 2015 at Minute Maid Park. The matchup will be televised nationally on FOX Sports 1.
