Betting Matchup Preview
Game Details
- Who: Houston Astros at Los Angeles Angels
- When: Tuesday, May 9
- Time: 9:38 p.m. ET / 6:38 p.m. PT
- Where: Angel Stadium (Anaheim, California)
Betting Odds Summary
- Moneyline: Astros +120, Angels -140
- Runline: Astros +1.5 (-190), Angels -1.5 (+160)
- Total: Over/Under 8 Runs (-105/-115)
Note: Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook. Subject to change.
The Los Angeles Angels put the skids on a two-game losing streak Monday night with a 6-4 come-from-behind win over the Houston Astros. The pair are back at it on Tuesday with a potential pitching duel.
Shohei Ohtani (4-0, 2.54 ERA) will make his eighth start of the season for LA, which has won six of his seven turns this year. The Halos haven’t lost an Ohtani start since Opening Day in March, with a 6-0 record since.
However, the previous two wins must be credited to the Halos’ offense after Ohtani allowed five earned runs to the Oakland Athletics and four to the St. Louis Cardinals. The megastar has now coughed up nine earned runs in his previous 11 innings of work and saw his ERA rise from 0.64 to 2.54.
Ohtani’s numbers are up at the plate, but his dominance on the mound is wavering.
Ohtani traditionally does well pitching against the Astros. When facing the current Houston lineup, Shotime has a .216 batting average against and a .581 OPS. In five starts last season, Ohtani went 3-1 against Houston with a 1.21 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 29⅔ innings.
Ohtani will have to out-pitch Framber Valdez (2-4, 2.60 ERA) in a showdown between struggling stars on Tuesday. Valdez was expected to be one of the leaders of this rotation but is posting pedestrian numbers thus far. He’s allowed two or more earned runs in five of his last six starts, and the Astros are 2-5 when he pitches.
Valdez’s strikeout totals are fine, but he is giving up too much contact. He’s allowed 42 hits in 45 innings and three home runs in his previous three starts.
To make matters worse, the Astros are struggling at the plate without Jose Altuve and Michael Brantley. Both have been injured since spring training.
Best Bet: Angels vs. Astros
Today’s pitchers suggest a tight game, which could be bad for the Angels. The Angels are one of the worst home teams in the league at 6-11 against the spread (ATS). With a return on investment (ROI) of -28.14%, they’ve cost MLB bettors when playing at Angel Stadium.
The Astros, meanwhile, are 10-6 ATS on the road with an ROI of +8.62%.
Let’s avoid the runline for tonight and instead focus on the Angels winning outright with -140 odds on the moneyline.
Despite Ohtani’s recent struggles on the mound, he’s still one of the best pitchers in the league. He’s also facing an underperforming Astros offense suffering from two critical injuries.
At DraftKings Sportsbook’s odds, a winning $100 bet on the Angels’ runline would pay $71 in profit plus the return of your initial $100 wager.
Same-Game Parlay
If you are hunting for a larger payout on the Astros vs. Angels game, adding a same-game parlay to your betting card is worth considering. These are long-shot bets, however.
This type of wager allows you to combine two or more bets from the same event into a single play. The advantage is that the odds for the combined wager are higher than betting all plays separately. For more information, check out our same-game parlay overview.
Here’s the trio of MLB prop bets we have chosen for this game:
- Shohei Ohtani to record a win (+130)
- Shohei Ohtani over 7.5 strikeouts (-170)
- Shohei Ohtani under 1.5 walks (+120)
After combining these three bets into a same-game parlay, the odds jump to +704. That would be good for a $704 profit on a $100 winning bet.
Our first leg of Tuesday’s same-game parlay is for Ohtani to record a win against the Astros. He pitched a no-decision last Wednesday, but we feel he’s primed for a bounce-back game. Houston is on a three-game losing streak and losing momentum fast. This is a matchup for Shotime to get back in the groove.
If Ohtani leads the Halos to a win, expect a fair amount of strikeouts along the way. The Astros aren’t a team that strikes out a lot, but Ohtani is almost matchup-proof regarding punchouts. He struggled against the Cardinals last week but still fanned 13. He has averaged 10.7 Ks per game over his previous three starts, and we expect a similar performance tonight.
Finally, we’re going all in on Ohtani today and betting he registers fewer than two walks against Houston. The Astros rank 22nd in the MLB in drawing walks, averaging 3.00 per game. Against Ohtani, we’re willing to bet they see one at most.
