The American League West isn’t going to be won in this series, but either the Angels or Astros can get a leg up with a win. The teams split the first 10 games of the season series and meet in Houston for the first time since early April when the Astros took two of three.
ODDS ANALYSIS
The Angels hit the road for the first time since before the All-Star break to face the Astros in a battle for first place in the AL West. The Halos completed a 10-game post-break homestand with a 7-3 record that kept them in first place after taking the top spot from Houston on the last day of the first half. LA had a successful road trip just before the break winning seven of nine games up 5.0 units on the moneyline and is 18-6 since June 27. The Angels climbed above .500 on the road at 23-22 following their recent trip to go up 1.41 units, but dropped two of three games in Houston when the teams played there back in April. The season series is as close as the division standings with each winning five of the first 10 meetings and seven of those games were decided by two or fewer runs with the under at 7-2-1.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Garrett Richards (10-7, 3.25 ERA) has been going deep into games lately lasting at least 7.2 innings in four of his past five starts. He went eight in his latest outing Thursday against the Twins but gave up a three-run homer to Trevor Plouffe in a 3-0 loss. Richards hasn’t been as good in his nine road starts going 4-5 with a 4.73 ERA and was tagged for 12 hits in his last road outing.
Richards went five innings giving up three earned runs in a loss at Houston on Apr. 19 and fanned a season-high 10 allowing just a run on a hit in a home win on May 10.
Lance McCullers (4-3, 2.60 ERA) wasn’t at his best in his last start but the Astros wound up pulling out a 5-4 victory. He allowed six hits and two runs through five innings Thursday against the Red Sox. He continues to show some of the best stuff in the AL, but he’s walked 21 batters over 38.1 innings in his last seven starts and has issued three free passes in each of his last three starts while not going past the sixth inning. He’s limited opponents to a .209 batting average.
McCullers had a nice outing in LA on June 24 giving up four hits and a run with six strikeouts in six innings taking a no-decision.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“We have to play the whole schedule. These are three of them. We have some more in September where we match up in our division. It’ll be a fun series, two good teams. It’s all part of trying to finish the season over the next couple of months rather than the next couple of days.” – Astros manager A.J. Hinch
LIVE BETTING or SITUATIONAL BETTING
Angels’ left fielder Matt Joyce is having a season to forget and after suffering an apparent concussion in Sunday’s game, some of those nasty memories may be gone forever. Joyce appeared to get kneed in the head by Erick Aybar as the two were chasing a shallow pop fly, which was caught by Aybar to end the inning. Joyce was helped off the field and replaced the next half inning. To counter that blow, the Angels acquired Shane Victorino from the Red Sox on Monday. Victorino provides them with a right-handed hitter who can start in left field against lefties and a fourth outfielder who can handle all three spots. He’s been plagued by injuries, though, playing in only 63 games since the start of 2014 and is batting .245/.324/.298 in 106 plate appearances this season.
PROP TALK
The Astros get plenty of attention for their MLB-high home run total but they don’t have the individual stats of the Angels’ Mike Trout and Albert Pujols. Trout leads the majors with his 31 long balls and Pujols is close behind with 29, accounting for 54 percent of the team’s home run total. The two have been especially busy during the month of July with Trout pounding 11 homers and Pujols five.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
Astros manager A.J. Hinch is playing with his rotation to give starters an extra day of rest whenever possible. McCullers, who had never pitched above the Double-A level, may benefit the most from the plan. He tossed more than 100 innings once in his short minor league career, going for 104.2 in 2013, and he’s now at 99 pitching between Corpus Christ and Houston. And it looks like he’s fading with a 4.91 ERA over his last two starts. The Angels have been swinging some hot sticks and a vulnerable McCullers is to their liking.
Los Angeles 5, Houston 2
The MLB lines for this contest will first be released by BookMaker Sportsbook. BookMaker is going to have multiple betting options available for this nationally-televised baseball matchup. Live wagering during commercials offers an adjusted moneyline, individual inning run totals and next hitter results. Log in and start gambling during the game now!
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! The ballgame pitting the Los Angeles Angels versus the Houston Astros will commence Wednesday, July 29, 2015, at 8:10 p.m. ET at Minute Maid Park. The matchup can be seen live on ESPN.
