Cleveland Guardians vs Houston Astros Prediction, Preview and Odds - 08/02/2023

Game Time: 2:10 pm ET, Wednesday, August 2, 2023

Venue:  Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX

Where to Watch:  Sportsnet SW

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Guardians +114, Astros -135; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Guardians +120, Astros -140; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Guardians +115, Astros -135; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

Cleveland Guardians:  53-54 (2nd place, AL Central)

Houston Astros:  60-47 (2nd place, AL West)

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Jack Banks is having a GREAT MLB SEASON going 90-59 for +$21,380! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

Cleveland Guardians:  5-5 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 53-54 record overall and have a road record of 25-30. This is the series opener of a 3-game series with the Astros on Wednesday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Tuesday. They also lost the series opener of this series on Monday. Their offense ranks 24th in the MLB with a .702 OPS. Rookie pitcher Gavin Williams is their starting pitcher on Tuesday while rookie pitcher Tanner Bibee is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 7-2 with a 3.11 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 3 ER, 2 HR, and 2 BB with 6 Ks on 6 hits through 6.2 IP against the Chicago White Sox.

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 60-47 record overall and have a home record of 29-25. This is the 3rd game of a 3-game series with the Guardians on Wednesday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Tuesday. They also won the 1st game of this series on Monday. Their offense ranks 13th in the MLB with a .736 OPS. Framber Valdez is their starting pitcher on Tuesday while Ronel Blanco is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 2-1 with a 4.70 ERA this season. His team lost 4 of their last 5 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 3 earned runs, 2 homers, and 2 BB with 9 strikeouts on 3 hits through 6 innings played against the Seattle Mariners.

The current betting odds have the Guardians listed as an underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Guardians have been playing a lot better lately as they are right around the .500 mark and are trying to chase down the Twins for 1st place in the AL Central. The Astros have also been starting to roll lately but their offense hasn't been showing up in a lot of their games despite them winning so much and the Guardians have a really good pitching staff that can get an edge on the Astros in this game. Bibee is on the mound for the Guardians and he is still in his rookie season but he has been lights out all year as he doesn't give up many runs in his starts at all. He has also been pitching really well in his starts lately and will continue to pitch well in this game since the Astros offense hasn't been that hot lately. The Astros are also going with Blanco in this game and he hasn't been terrible this season but he has been giving up quite a few runs in his starts lately and the Guardians will take advantage of any scoring opportunities they can get here. The best way to place a bet here is on the Guardians to win this game.

Guardians Astros Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Wednesday, August 2, 2023 (2:10 pm ET start time) is Guardians 3 Astros 1.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks, best bets, and expert baseball picks today.  And if you enjoyed this Cleveland Guardians Houston Astros prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily MLB projections and previews.

Cleveland Guardians: 53-55 (-11.5 units) on the moneyline in all games. 25-31 (-8.1 units) on the moneyline in road games. 16-6 UNDER after batting .225 or worse over a 5 game span. 17-5 UNDER after scoring 3 runs or less 2 straight games.

Houston Astros: 27-16 (+6.7 units) on the moneyline after 2 straight games where they committed no errors. 19-13 (+4.7 units) on the moneyline after scoring 2 runs or less. 22-13 UNDER after a game with a combined score of 3 runs or less. 31-20 UNDER in August games.

Cleveland Guardians:  N. Syndergaard (SP) day-to-day - Leg. S. Bieber (SP) Mid Sept - Elbow. P. Battenfield (RP) Mid Aug - Shoulder. T. McKenzie (SP) Mid Sept - Elbow. C. Quantrill (SP) Out indefinitely - Shoulder.

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

“For not competing in a big league game in two months I felt like my efficiency and strike-throwing was really good. I just look forward to getting back on the mound whenever that is.” - Noah Syndergaard after their loss against the Astros in their game on Monday.

“The main thing is he's throwing strikes. And he's throwing first-ball strikes.” - Dusty Baker after his team’s win against the Guardians in their game on Monday.

Steven Kwan (L) LF

Andres Gimenez (L) 2B

Jose Ramirez (S) 3B

Josh Naylor (L) 1B

Josh Bell (S) DH

Will Brennan (L) RF

Gabriel Arias (R) SS

Bo Naylor (L) C

Myles Straw (R) CF

Jose Altuve (R) 2B

Jeremy Pena (R) SS

Kyle Tucker (L) RF

Alex Bregman (R) 3B

Yordan Alvarez (L) LF

Jose Abreu (R) 1B

Yainer Diaz (R) C

Corey Julks (R) DH

Jake Meyers (R) CF

Batting Average:  Josh Naylor (.306)

Hits:  Steven Kwan (119)

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 (.301)

Hits:  Kyle Tucker (115)

Home Runs:  Yordan Alvarez (19)

RBI:  Kyle Tucker (72)

Stolen Bases:  Kyle Tucker (20)

Wins:  Framber Valdez (8)

Saves:  Ryan Pressly (25)

ERA:  Kendall Graveman (0.00)

Managers:

Cleveland Guardians: Terry Francona (11th season)

Houston Astros: Dusty Baker (4th season)