Baltimore Orioles vs. Houston Astros might be a heck of a playoff series.
Both teams are likely heading to the postseason. The Orioles are in first place and an AL-best 27 games over .500 — that snuck up on you, didn’t it? — and the Astros are having a fine follow-up to their World Series title. On Tuesday night, Kyle Tucker’s grand slam in the ninth inning off all-star closer Felix Bautista, after Tucker fouled off multiple pitches, gave the Astros a 7-6 lead. It was a heck of a win for Houston bettors.
The Orioles are -125 favorites at BetMGM for Wednesday’s game. It really does feel like a postseason matchup.
The Orioles are still up in the AL East but lost a game in the standings to the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday. They’re up two games on Tampa Bay. The Astros are 65-49 but are having a tough time catching the Texas Rangers, who have won eight in a row. The Astros trail by three games in the NL West.
On Wednesday, Cristian Javier is on the mound for the Astros against Jack Flaherty, the Orioles’ big acquisition at the trade deadline. Flaherty had a strong debut for Baltimore, giving up one run in six innings against the Toronto Blue Jays.
It should be another good matchup. Maybe we’ll see more in October.
Here’s the first look at the sports betting slate for Thursday:
Rest of the MLB slate
The Los Angeles Angels got a win on Tuesday night and have Shohei Ohtani on the mound Wednesday. It’s probably too little, too late for them after their post-deadline losing streak, but they should still celebrate every time they get to see Ohtani before he hits free agency. The Angels are -130 favorites against the San Francisco Giants.
There are three afternoon games, including a couple featuring NL Central contenders. The Cincinnati Reds take on the Miami Marlins, and are -125 favorites. The Milwaukee Brewers host the Colorado Rockies as -225 favorites. The Reds and Brewers lost on Tuesday and are having a hard time holding off the Chicago Cubs, who are 1.5 games behind the Brewers and tied with the Reds in the standings. The Cubs are -115 favorites against the New York Mets on Wednesday evening.
What’s the best bet?
Even though Kyle Hendricks of the Cubs is coming off a poor start in which he gave up seven runs to the Atlanta Braves, he should have an easier time against a Mets offense that is Pete Alonso and not much else since the trade deadline. I’ll go with the Cubs as slight -115 favorites to take Wednesday’s game and win the series.
