The Cleveland Indians’ starting rotation is in dire straits right now, and that’s terrible news with a trip to visit the major league-leading Houston Astros on tap for Friday. Sportsbooks opened the Tribe as +134 road underdogs with a total of 8.5.
- The Indians are 1-7 ATS in their last eight games against the Astros.
- The total has gone UNDER in 21 of the Indians' last 28 games against the Astros.
- The total has gone OVER in four of the Astros' last five games at home.
Cleveland will send right-hander Trevor Bauer to the mound, while the Astros are expected to counter with Charlie Morton. Bauer (3-4, 6.92 ERA) may be in the midst of a rocky season and his ERA shows it. However, he boasts a fantastic 6-0 mark with a 2.61 ERA in six career starts vs Houston. The Indians’ starting rotation has posted a collective 9.14 ERA over the past five games and ranks 29th in the majors with a 5.15 mark.
Morton (5-2, 3.97) has been a major boon for the Astros’ staff after he was limited to only four starts in 2016 due to surgery to repair a torn hamstring. He took the loss in his lone career start vs the Indians with six innings of three-run ball. The hurler struck out 10 over 5 2/3 innings in his last outing vs the New York Yankees.
Signs are pointing to the ’Stros in this one. Houston is 23-7 this season when facing a right-handed starter, and is one of the best runline teams in MLB. On the other hand, Cleveland is the worst. Check out Joe Osborne's piece about how to properly bet the Astros for more in-depth info on how to bet them.
Sportsbook Odds & Computer Pick
The Houston Astros were listed as -138 moneyline favorites earlier in the day at Sportsbook, while odds makers set the Sportsbook total line around 9 earlier at Sportsbook.
Odds Shark prediction models pick the Astros to win this game 5.4-3.0. View the computer score prediction and who will win the pick on the moneyline for all upcoming MLB matchups here.
Cleveland Indians vs Houston Astros Matchup
Team Betting Records & Power Rankings
Houston (29-12) will face the 20-19 Indians in this tilt. Stay Informed: follow us on Twitter for odds specials, betting line moves and Houston vs Cleveland injuries news.
According to MLB Power Rankings here, it's the No. 1-ranked Houston Astros and the No. 16-rated Cleveland Indians in this matchup.
Statistical Matchup
Rating these teams in several key categories is important for handicappers and Houston has baseball's No. 4-rated offensive output, at 9.39 hits per game. The Cleveland Indians average 7.95 hits per game, good for No. 24 on the list.
Pitching and defensive stats are important baseball handicapping betting factors and Houston has the No. 2-ranked defense. In the other dugout, the Indians own the No. 3 mark in runs allowed.
Recent Outings Betting Recap
The Indians endured a 7-4 loss at the hands of the Rays on Wednesday, with J Tomlin throwing 2.1 innings of 7-hit ball at Progressive Field.
The Astros didn't allow a single run in their last start, as their staff shut out Miami 3-0 on Wednesday at Marlins Park.
- Cleveland is 1-6 ATS in its last 7 games
- Cleveland is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Cleveland's last 5 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 13 of Cleveland's last 19 games
- Houston is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games
- Houston is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Houston's last 5 games
- Houston is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games at home
Next Betting Matchups
Cleveland at Houston, Saturday, May 20th
