Cleveland Guardians vs Houston Astros Betting Pick & Prediction 5/1/24

At 8:10 PM ET, the Cleveland Guardians and Houston Astros will face off in an American League matchup. This one is being played at Minute Maid Park in Houston and features a Guardians club that is 19-10 compared to the Astros at 10-19. Justin Verlander will start for the Astros, while the Guardians are sending Triston McKenzie to the mound.

Currently, the Astros are the betting favorite at -172, and the over/under line is at 8.5 runs. Cleveland comes in with a money line payout of +143. You can catch this one on TV on ESPN.

HOUSTON ASTROS VS CLEVELAND GUARDIANS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Houston Astros Moneyline -172

This game will be played at Minute Maid Park at 8:10 ET on Wednesday, May 1st.

HOW TO BET THE GUARDIANS VS ASTROS:

• We have the Astros winning by a score of 6 to 5
• However, if you’re looking for a run line pick, we like the Guardians to cover
• As for an over/under pick, we have this game finishing with 11 runs and like the over

Houston had a late rally in the last game of this series, scoring two runs in the 9th and another two in the 10th to pick up a 10-9 win over the Guardians. The Astros offense only had three more hits than the Guardians and struck out nine times, but still picked up a win thanks to the late scoring.

Josh Hader got the win for the Astros out of the bullpen, while Hunter Gaddis took the loss for Cleveland.

At the plate, Jon Singleton, Alex Bregman, and Victor Caratini each homered for the Astros. Singleton, Bregman, Jose Altuve, and Kyle Tucker each had two hits and scored two runs for Houston’s offense.

Guardians Records & Stats

Cleveland will be on the road today vs. the Astros, and they are looking to bounce back from dropping the final game of their series vs. the Braves. So far, the Guardians are 19-10, good for 1st place in the AL Central. They lead the Royals by two games heading into today’s game.

The Guardians have an overall series record of 7-2 this year, and they are 4-1 in division games. Cleveland has been good on the road, putting together an 11-6 record compared to an 8-4 mark at home. As the road underdog, the Guardians are 7-4 this season, and they have dropped two straight as the underdog overall.

When on the road, the Cleveland Guardians are a solid bet against the run line, going 12-5 on the season. They have covered the run line in three straight games and are 11-2 as an underdog. Their average run margin in winning games is +3.8 runs per game.

The Cleveland Guardians are on the road against the Houston Astros today, and the over/under line is set at 8.5 runs. The Guardians’ games have averaged 8.9 runs per game this season, and their over/under record is 16-11 overall. When the over/under line is set at 8.5 runs, their record is 4-6, and only 10.3% of their games have had higher lines this season. The Guardians’ games have gone under the line of 8.5 runs in 55.2% of their games this season.

Triston McKenzie will be taking on the Astros in Houston today. He has started 2 games this season, with his last outing being a no-decision against the Red Sox. In that start, he went 4 innings and gave up 2 earned runs on 6 hits.

Heading into today’s game, the Guardians are 4th in the league in runs scored at 5.2 per game. They have been even better on the road, averaging 5.4 runs per contest. As a team, the Guardians are batting .248, which is 9th in the league. Their home run numbers are just 11th in the league, but they have been good at avoiding strikeouts, as they have the 4th fewest in the league.

Steven Kwan comes into the game with a six-game hitting streak and is batting .350 for the season. Over his last seven games, Kwan is 8/25. Josh Naylor and Jose Ramirez have been the team’s top power threats, with Naylor’s seven homers ranking 4th in the league and Ramirez’s five homers coming in at 6th in the MLB.

Astros Records & Stats

Houston is hosting the Guardians today with an overall record of 10-19, which has them 5th in the AL West. So far, they are 4-3 in divisional games and are 6.5 games behind the Mariners for the division lead. The Astros have put together a three-game winning streak, taking the final two games of their series vs. the Rockies and winning the first game of this series vs. the Guardians.

At home, the Astros are just 5-9 this year compared to 5-10 on the road. This season, they have struggled as the favorite, going 8-16, which includes going 5-6 as the favorite at home. So far, they are 2-3 as the underdog. Houston’s overall series record is 3-5-1 this year.

The Astros have been a poor bet against the run line this season, going just 10-19 overall. They have been slightly better at home, going 5-9 against the run line, but are still in the red overall. They have been favored in 24 of their 29 games and have gone just 7-17 against the run line in those games.

Today’s over/under line of 8.5 runs for the Astros’ game against the Guardians is the lowest line of the season for Houston. The Astros have had a high average over/under line of 10 runs per game, and their games have averaged 9.8 runs per game. Their over/under record is 9-18, and they have played 22 games with higher lines than 8.5 runs.

Justin Verlander is getting the start for the Houston Astros at home against the Cleveland Guardians. Verlander has made two starts this season, and he has a win and a no-decision. In his last outing, he went 6 innings, giving up 2 earned runs, and struck out 4. He also had a start against the Cubs, where he went 4 1/3 innings and struck out 7.

As a team, the Astros are batting .265, which is the 3rd best mark in the league. They also have the fewest strikeouts in the league and are among the league leaders in OBP, slugging percentage, and OPS. Houston is averaging 4.6 runs per game, which is 16th in the MLB. At home, they have been a bit better, averaging 5.1 runs per contest.

Jose Altuve and Kyle Tucker have both been swinging the bat well of late, with Altuve going 6/21 in his last five games and Tucker going 7/19. Both players also have two homers during this stretch. Tucker is currently on a six-game hitting streak. For the season, Tucker is batting .300 with a team-high 20 RBIs, while Altuve is hitting .345 with seven homers.