Houston Astros Vs. New York Yankees (6/25/22) Starting Lineup, Betting Odds, Prediction

Last season the Houston Astros won the American League pennant, losing to the Atlanta Braves in the 2021 World Series.  This season, Houston is 43-26 through 69 games, first place in the American League West; the Astros are -2500 to win the division.  Houston is +600 to win the 2022 World Series, they won their only championship in 2017.

The Yankees are 52-18 through their first 70 games of the season, first place in the American League East, they’re -1200 to win the division; they’ve won the AL East once since 2013. New York is +425 to win their first World Series since 2009 when they beat the Philadelphia Phillies; the Yankees have won a record 27 World Series titles. 

Houston Astros Vs. New York Yankees Betting Odds

The Astros are 6-1 in their last seven road games vs. a right-handed starter.  Over is 4-1 in Houston’s last five road games vs. a right-handed starter.  The Astros are 14-3 in their last 17 during game three of a series.  Over is 5-0-1 in Houston’s last six during game three of a series.

The Yankees are 6-1 in their last seven during game three of a series.  Over is 5-1 in New York’s last six during game three of a series.  The Yankees are 36-15 in their last 51 home games vs. a right-handed starter.  Under is 8-3 in New York’s last 11 vs. American League West.

Houston Astros Starting Lineup

C. Javier R
4-3 3.07 ERA

2B J. Altuve R
LF M. Brantley L
3B A. Bregman R
DH Y. Alvarez L
RF K. Tucker L
1B Y. Gurriel R
SS A. Diaz R
C J. Castro L
CF J. Meyers R

Houston Astros Vs. Gerrit Cole (R)

Designated hitter Yordan Alvarez leads the Astros this year with 22 home runs (second in MLB) and has knocked in 54 runs (fourth in the big leagues) while also leading the team with a .317 batting average.   Alvarez has 149 total bases with a .665 slugging percentage and an OPS of 1.071, which leads the majors in both categories this year.  The 2019 Rookie of the Year is +1100 to win the 2022 American League MVP.

Last season, Tucker hit .294 with 30 home runs and 92 runs batted in.  This season, he has belted 13 home runs (tied for second on the Astros) and driven in 45 runs in 225 at-bats. Additionally, he has 110 total bases, a .489 slugging percentage with an OPS of .844 in 2022.  Michael Brantley is hitting .296 in his first 233 at-bats, second on the club in batting average.   Additionally, he has 14 doubles, a triple, five home run, 26 runs batted in and 100 total bases, Brantley has a slugging percentage of .429 with an OPS of .804 this season.  The left fielder in his fourth season with Houston is a lifetime .298 hitter with 127 home runs and 713 runs driven in.

Alex Bregman has 14 doubles, nine home runs and 35 runs driven in through his first 235 at-bats to begin the 2022 season.  He has 96 total bases with a .409 slugging percentage and an OPS of .762.  Bregman is a career .277 hitter with 126 home runs and 432 runs batted in.  Jose Altuve has 13 doubles, 13 home runs (tied for second on the team), 24 runs batted in with 111 total bases this season.  The 2017 American League MVP is hitting .278, slugging .524 with an .878 OPS in 2022.

Gerrit Cole is 6-1 in 14 starts with an ERA of 3.14 in 2022.  The four-time All-Star has pitched 80 1/3 innings, striking out 103 batters while allowing 28 runs with a WHIP of 1.021 this season.  In his third season with the Yankees, he’s 29-12 with an ERA of 3.12 and 440 strikeouts.

New York Yankees Starting Lineup

G. Cole R
6-1 3.14 ERA

1B D.J. LeMahieu R
CF A. Judge R
DH A. Rizzo L
RF G. Stanton R
3B J. Donaldson R
2B G. Torres R
LF A. Hicks S
SS I. Kiner-Falefa R
C K. Higashioka R

New York Yankees Vs. Cristian Javier (R)

In the 2021 season, Aaron Judge played in 148 games, belting 39 home runs, driving in 98 runs with an OPS of .916.  This season he leads the majors in home runs (27) and total bases (171).  Additionally, he’s second in slugging percentage (.658) and third in OPS (1.037) while his 53 runs batted in are fifth in MLB.  The Yankees number 99 leads the club with a .304 batting average.  Judge is the favorite to win the 2022 American League MVP at -120. 

Giancarlo Stanton hit .273, slamming 35 home runs and driving in 97 runs in 2021.  In his 13^th season, he has 15 home runs (third on the club), 45 runs driven in, 100 total bases with a .820 OPS in 2022.  He’s slugging .493 with 25 runs scored this year.   

Left-handed first baseman, Anthony Rizzo has slammed 19 home runs this season (second on the Yankees) while knocking in 49 runs with 126 total bases.  Playing in his first full season with New York, he has an OPS of .838 with a .504 slugging percentage in 2022.  Gleyber Torres has hit 13 home runs and driven in 32 runs this season for New York.  The second baseman is hitting .257 with 110 total bases and a .505 slugging percentage.  DJ LeMahieu has hit .300 since joining the Yankees in 2019.  This season, he’s hitting .257 with six home runs, 29 runs driven in, 89 total bases with an OPS of .741. LeMahieu has scored 35 runs and drawn 29 walks this campaign

Cristian Javier is 4-3 in 13 games (nine starts) with an ERA of 3.07 in 2022.  The 25-year-old, has struck out 68 batters, allowed 19 earned runs in 55 2/3 innings this season.  In his third season, he’s pitched over 211 innings with 252 strikeouts.

Houston Astros Vs. New York Yankees Picks & Prediction

The Astros are 1-5 in their last six vs. American League East opponents.  Houston is averaging 4.42 runs per nine innings, 16^th in Major League Baseball. They have a team batting average of .240, 18^th in the league, and their OPS is .738, fifth in all of MLB.  The Astros’ pitching staff has allowed 3.55 runs per nine innings, third in the league with opponents’ batting .220 against the team, fourth in MLB.  Under is 11-1 in Houston’s last 12 Saturday games.

New York is 20-8 in their last 28 vs. American League West foes.  The Yankees are averaging 5.14 runs per nine innings, second overall in MLB.  They have a team batting average of .245, 13^th in the league, and their OPS is .768, tops in baseball.  New York’s pitching staff has allowed 3.06 runs per nine innings, first in MLB with opponents’ batting .214 with an OPS of .629 against the club, first in the league in both categories.  Under is 4-0 in the Yankees last four Saturday games.

I like the Yankees in this game on the strength of their clutch hitting and starting pitcher Gerrit Cole who’s only lost one game and is fourth in the majors in strikeouts this season.  New York wins this contest between the two first place teams, 5-3 with the Yankees covering the 1.5 run spread as the teams combine for under 8.5 runs on a Saturday in the Bronx.