Cleveland Guardians vs Houston Astros Prediction, Preview and Odds - 08/01/2023

Game Time: 8:10 pm ET, Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Venue:  Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX

Where to Watch:  Sportsnet SW

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Guardians +160, Astros -192; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Guardians +167, Astros -192; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Guardians +160, Astros -192; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

Cleveland Guardians:  53-53 (2nd place, AL Central)

Houston Astros:  59-47 (2nd place, AL West)

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Cleveland Guardians:  6-4 last 10

Houston Astros:  6-4 last 10

The Guardians are entering this series off a win and split their 4-game series against the Chicago White Sox 2-2 in their last series. They enter this game with a 53-53 record overall and have a road record of 25-29. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Astros on Tuesday with the series opener of this series still to be played on Monday. Their offense ranks 24th in the MLB with a .702 OPS. Noah Syndergaard is their starting pitcher on Monday while rookie pitcher Gavin Williams is making his start in this game on Tuesday. He is 1-2 with a 3.35 ERA this season. His team won their last 2 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 0 ER, 0 HR, and 2 BB with 5 Ks on 3 hits through 4 IP against the Kansas City Royals.

The Astros are entering this series off a loss and lost their 3-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 59-47 record overall and have a home record of 28-25. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Guardians on Tuesday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Monday. Their offense ranks 14th in the MLB with a .735 OPS. Rookie pitcher J.P. France is their starting pitcher on Monday while Framber Valdez is making his start in this game on Tuesday. He is 8-7 with a 3.29 ERA this season. His team lost 2 of their last 3 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 6 earned runs, 2 homers, and 2 BB with 1 strikeout on 8 hits through 3.2 innings played against the Texas Rangers.

The current betting odds have the Guardians listed as a big underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Guardians have been struggling for most of the season but they have been playing a lot better lately as they have pulled themselves over .500 now and are right on the tail of the Twins for 1st place in the AL Central. The Guardians haven't had a good offense this year but they have had great pitching and the Astros have actually been really similar since their offense hasn't been great but their pitching has been. The Guardians have continued to pitch well in their games lately but the Astros pitching staff has not been great in their games lately and with their offense not putting up a ton of runs in their games either, the Guardians can definitely lean on their better pitching matchup here and try to edge the slumping Astros out. The Astros are starting Valdez in this game and even though he has been a really reliable starter for them all season, lately he has been giving up a ton of runs in his starts as he is falling apart and the Guardians offense has actually been getting better lately as they are starting to generate more scoring chances. They also have their rookie Williams on the mound here and even though he is still in his rookie season, he has been pitching really well all year and hasn't had many starts where he gives up a ton of runs. There is simply too much value with the Guardians in this game for the way their offense has been improving lately along with the better pitching staff for this game. The best way to place a bet here is on the Guardians to win this game.

Guardians Astros Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Tuesday, August 1, 2023 (8:10 pm ET start time) is Guardians 4 Astros 2.

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Cleveland Guardians: 53-53 (-9.5 units) on the moneyline in all games. 23-30 (-11.2 units) on the moneyline when the total is 8.5 to 10. 18-21 (-11.1 units) on the moneyline against left-handed starters. GAVIN WILLIAMS is 3-1 OVER when the total is 7 to 8.5. 

Houston Astros: 13-3 (+6 units) on the moneyline as a favorite of -200 or more. 34-17 (+14.4 units) on the moneyline when the total is 8.5 to 10. 9-5 OVER as a home favorite of -175 to -250. FRAMBER VALDEZ is 8-1 OVER as a favorite of -150 or more.

Cleveland Guardians:  N. Syndergaard (SP) Prob Mon - Finger. S. Bieber (SP) Mid Sept - Elbow. P. Battenfield (RP) Early Aug - Shoulder. T. McKenzie (SP) Mid Sept - Elbow. C. Quantrill (SP) Out indefinitely - Shoulder.

Houston Astros:  J. Urquidy (SP) Early Aug - Shoulder. M. Brantley (DH) Out indefinitely - Shoulder. L. McCullers Jr. (SP) out for season - Elbow. L. Garcia (SP) out for season - Elbow.

“Early on his curveball was really working and then he got comfortable with his cutter and threw his fastball. He just really knows how to pitch.” - Terry Francona after his team’s win against the White Sox in their game on Sunday.

“It was a combination of walks, and that club over there, you can’t give them a whole bunch of walks and errors because they can score. It was a pretty uneventful day for us. Things didn’t start off well, and they didn’t end well.” - Dusty Baker after his team’s loss against the Rays in their game on Sunday.

Steven Kwan (L) LF

Andres Gimenez (L) 2B

Jose Ramirez (S) 3B

Josh Naylor (L) DH

Josh Bell (S) 1B

Oscar Gonzalez (R) RF

Will Brennan (L) CF

Gabriel Arias (R) SS

Cam Gallagher (R) C

Jose Altuve (R) 2B

Jeremy Pena (R) SS

Kyle Tucker (L) RF

Alex Bregman (R) 3B

Yordan Alvarez (L) DH

Jose Abreu (R) 1B

Chas McCormick (R) LF

Mauricio Dubon (R) CF

Martin Maldonado (R) C

Batting Average:  Josh Naylor (.308)

Hits:  Steven Kwan (118)

Home Runs:  Jose Ramirez (18)

RBI:  Josh Naylor (79)

Stolen Bases:  Andres Gimenez (17)

Wins:  Tanner Bibee (7)

Saves:  Emmanuel Clase (28)

ERA:  Konnor Pilkington (0.00)

Batting Average:  Kyle Tucker (.299)

Hits:  Kyle Tucker (113)

Home Runs:  Kyle Tucker (18)

RBI:  Kyle Tucker (70)

Stolen Bases:  Kyle Tucker (19)

Wins:  Framber Valdez (8)

Saves:  Ryan Pressly (24)

ERA:  Kendall Graveman (0.00)

Managers:

Cleveland Guardians: Terry Francona (11th season)

Houston Astros: Dusty Baker (4th season)