The 2022 MLB season continues Sunday, July 3, with the AL West showdown at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, so we have prepared the best Angels vs. Astros betting pick and odds. 

The Halos and Astros wrap up a three-game set with Game 10 of their 19-game regular-season series. Houston has won five of its previous eight meetings with Los Angeles this season, while Saturday’s battle has been excluded from the analysis. According to BetOnline Sportsbook, the Astros are firm -200 moneyline favorites for Sunday’s clash. 

The Angels suffered a heavy loss in Friday’s opener                                          

The Los Angeles Angels dropped to 37-42 on the season following an 8-1 defeat at Minute Maid Park this past Friday. Shohei Ohtani hit a solo home run in the top of the first, but the Angels finished with a paltry two hits. Michael Lorenzen yielded eight runs on eight hits across three innings of work, proving that pitching is a huge problem for the Angels. 

Besides Ohtani, the Halos’ starting rotation is a complete mess. Jose Suarez will get the ball Sunday, and the 24-year-old left-hander is 1-2 with a 4.36 ERA, 5.29 FIP, 1.64 WHIP, and 34/17 K/BB ratio in six starts and a couple of relief appearances (33 innings) in 2022. 

Suarez did a great job last Sunday, tossing six innings of a one-run ball in relief in a 2-1 home victory to the Seattle Mariners. He grabbed his first win of the season while punching out eight and issuing no free passes. 

The Astros hammered the Angels for their fourth straight W           

The Houston Astros improved to 49-27 on the season following Friday’s dismantling of the Angels, extending their winning streak to four games. They hit three home runs, while Cristian Javier struck out 14 across seven innings of a one-run, one-hit ball. 

The Astros’ pitching staff has been outstanding in the last couple of weeks and 110.1 frames of work, accounting for a 2.28 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and .169 opposing batting average. Framber Valdez will get the nod Sunday, and the 28-year-old southpaw is 8-3 with a sharp 2.65 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 15 starts (95 innings) this season. 

Valdez went 3-1 in June, posting a 2.81 ERA and 3.69 FIP through 32 frames of work (five starts). Last Tuesday, Framber fired eight scoreless innings in a 9-1 thrashing of the Mets at Citi Field in New York. 

Trends:

LA Angels: 

  • 6-14 in the last 20 games against Houston 
  • 4-13 in the last 17 games on the road 

Houston:

  • 6-1 in the last seven games overall 
  • 7-1 in the last eight games at home 
  • 8-2 in Framber Valdez’s last ten starts   

Los Angeles Angels vs. Houston Astros Pick 

Framber Valdez’s worst start of the season came against the Angels on April 19. He was shelled for six earned runs on eight hits across 4.1 frames at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. However, Framber also blanked the Angels through 6.2 innings on Opening Day. 

Valdez has done an excellent job for the Astros since his previous date with the Halos, so I’m expecting another solid start this Sunday. The Astros are slashing .244/.327/.455 with 22 home runs in their last 13 games and 402 at-bats, so give me the hosts at moneyline odds. 

Pick: Take Houston Astros at -200                                     

The Total:

The Angels are hitting an underwhelming .220/.287/.395 with 18 homers in their previous 14 outings and 440 at-bats. Hereof, I lean toward the under, but the totals seem a tricky wager in this clash. Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani can produce runs on their own even though the Astros’ pitching staff is pitching at a high level at the moment. 

Houston’s bullpen has a 3.24 ERA and 11.6 K/9 in the last couple of weeks and 33.1 frames of work, while Los Angeles’ bullpen has registered a 3.29 ERA and 9.1 K/9 across 54.2 innings in that span. 

Pick: Go under 8.0 runs at -105