The playoff action in the MLB continues with Game 2 of the ALCS in Houston on Thursday, October 20, and here you can take a look at the best Yankees vs. Astros betting pick and odds.

New York and Houston will play the second of a best-of-seven ALCS series at Minute Maid Park, and the Astros are -150 moneyline favorites on Bovada Sportsbook, while the total is set at 7 runs. Before this playoff series, these AL rivals have faced on seven occasions, and the Astros won five of those duels. Houston also won Game 1 of the current series.

Yankees couldn’t do much against mighty Verlander

The New York Yankees played two games in many days and it was too much for them after losing Game 1 of the ALCS to the Houston Astros on the road. The fatigue was evident following a deciding Game 5 of the ALDS against the Cleveland Guardians, and things are not going to be any better on Thursday in Game 2 of this series with Houston.

The Yankees actually opened the scoring with Harrison Bader’s solo homer in the 2nd inning, but the hosts responded quickly and controlled the game since. Anthony Rizzo also blasted a solo home run in the 8th, but only to soften a 4-2 defeat. Jameson Taillon didn’t record a single strikeout in his start but still pitched well during 4.1 innings, allowing one run on four hits with three walks in a no-decision. Clarke Schmidt took a loss.

Luis Severino (7-3, 0-0 in the playoffs) is ready to get on the mound for the Yankees in Game 2 of the ALCS against Houston on Thursday. The 28-year-old right-hander started 19 games this season and has a 3.18 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 112/30 K/BB ratio over 102.0 innings.

Verlander and long balls propelled the Astros to a win over the Yanks

The Houston Astros justified a role of a favorite in the opening game of the ALCS against the New York Yankees at home. Houston had three days to rest while New York was forced to play back-to-back games and the Astros took that advantage to secure a 4-2 victory.

Justin Verlander was fantastic in his start even though he needed 45 pitches to get out of the first two innings, during which he allowed a solo homer to Harrison Bader. The veteran ace settled down later on and threw for 11 strikeouts with just one walk in 6.0 innings while getting a W in the process. Yuli Gurriel and Jeremy Pena hit a solo homer apiece to help the Astros in this win. Ryan Pressly earned his second save of the postseason.

Framber Valdez (17-6) is named a starter for Game 2 of this ALCS against New York on Thursday. The 28-year-old left-hander had a career-high 31 starts this year and owns a 2.82 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 194/67 K/BB ratio across 201.1 innings of work.

Trends:

New York:

  • 3-7 in the last ten vs. American League West rivals
  • 3-7 in the last ten games vs. a left-handed starter
  • 1-5 in the last six League Championship games

Houston:

  • 4-0 in the last four playoff games
  • 4-0 in the last four games vs. a right-handed starter
  • 5-1 in the last six vs. American League East opponents

New York Yankees vs. Houston Astros Pick

Luis Severino didn’t play well in his lone playoff start this year after allowing three runs against Cleveland in a no-decision. He lost both of his starts against Houston this year but registered a decent 3.75 ERA in 12.0 innings. On the other hand, Framber Valdez nearly logged a quality start in his playoff start against Seattle, but he did pitch well. Against the Yankees this year, Valdez has a 4.50 ERA over 6.0 innings, but his numbers against New York’s batter are better than Severino’s against Houston. The visitors will be playing the third game in many days, which is a crucial fact for me to back the Astros again.

Pick: Take the Astros to win (-150)

The Total

We had six runs in the opening game of the series, but I expect at least one more on Thursday. Jose Altuve, Yuli Gurriel, and Trey Mancini have a strong record against Severino, I am backing them to combine for at least a couple of RBIs here. When it comes to Valdez’s record against the Yankees, Giancarlo Stanton is a man to watch as he has four hits on eight at-bats against Framber, with three RBIs. Over is 7-3 in the Yankees’ last ten playoff road games, while Over is 5-2 in the Astros’ previous seven League Championship games.

Pick: Go Over 7 runs (-110)