A long-awaited Game 1 of the American League Championship Series will take place on Wednesday, October 19 in Houston, and here you can see the best Yankees vs. Astros betting pick and odds.

New York and Houston will play the first of a best-of-seven ALCS series at Minute Maid Park, and the Astros are -185 moneyline favorites on BetDSI Sportsbook, while the total is set at 6.5 runs. These AL rivals have met seven times this season before the playoff series, and the Astros lead 5-2.

Yankees beat the Guardians in Game 5

The New York Yankees needed a maximum of five games to defeat the Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS and progress to the ALCS. New York was 2-1 down in the series but won the final two, allowing just three runs in the process and scoring nine in return.

In the opening inning of Game 5 on Tuesday, Giancarlo Stanton blasted a three-run homer off of Aaron Civale to make it 3-0 for the Yankees, and Aaron Judge hit a solo home run in the 2nd. From that point, the Yanks controlled the tilt, and the Guardians only managed to score one run as New York celebrated a 5-1 victory. Nestor Cortes got the first playoff win of his career after pitching for 5.0 inning, allowing one run on three hits with two strikeouts and a walk.

Jameson Taillon (14-5) will start for the first time this postseason when he faces Houston in Game 1 of the ALCS on Wednesday. The 30-year-old right-hander started 32 games this season and has a 3.91 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, and 151/32 K/BB ratio in 177.1 innings.

Astros swept the Mariners to make it to the ALCS

The Houston Astros, the regular season American League champions, advanced to the ALCS after sweeping the divisional foes Seattle Mariners in three games. Houston trailed in the opening two, both at home, but made comebacks to get wins. However, in Game 3, which was played in Seattle, the Astros needed even 18 innings to score a game-winning run and secure a precious 1-0 victory.

Jeremy Pena scored the only run of the game and it was a solo homer off of Penn Murfee. Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, and Yuli Gurriel had multi-hit displays. Lance McCullers Jr. was excellent in his start after pitching for 6.0 scoreless innings, letting just two hits with seven strikeouts and a couple of walks. Six relievers then took the mound before Luis Garcia stayed for 5.0 innings, and was credited with a win after allowing two hits with six strikeouts.

Justin Verlander (18-4, 0-0 in the playoffs) is expected to start Game 1 of the ALCS against the Yankees on Wednesday. The 39-year-old right-hander had 28 starts this season and owns a fantastic 1.75 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, and 185/29 K/BB ratio across 175.0 innings of work.

Trends:

New York:

  • 1-4 in the last five League Championship games
  • 1-4 in the last five playoff road games
  • 3-14 in the last 17 League Championship road games

Houston:

  • 4-1 in the last five playoff games
  • 9-3 in the last 12 playoff home games
  • 4-1 in the last five vs. American League East rivals

New York Yankees vs. Houston Astros Pick

The Yankees will face the Astros 24 hours after their previous game, while Houston had more than enough time to rest as they played their last game on October 15. That’s a big plus for the home side, who also didn’t have to travel half of the country to make it for this tilt. Justin Verlander didn’t experience the best of starts in Game 1 against Seattle as he surrendered even six runs on ten hits over 4.0 innings, but he will be much better on Wednesday, there is no doubt about it. Verlander has an excellent record against the Yankees, keeping them at a .161 BA in 155 at-bats throughout his career.

Pick: Take the Astros to win at -1.5 Run Line (+120)

The Total

Following that aforementioned start against the Mariners, Verlander will be eager to show a way better display, and I am backing him to do it. However, I am not so sure about Jameson Taillon, as he will face fresh and energized Houston batters, and his numbers are far from being great against the Astros. Taillon allowed a .312 BA in 32 at-bats against Houston thus far, but in his defense, he allowed just two RBIs and no homers. That will change on Wednesday, and that’s why I expect at least seven runs here. Over is 7-2 in the Yankees’ last nine playoff road games, while Over is 5-1 in the Astros’ previous six League Championship games.

Pick: Go Over 6.5 runs (-110)