Game Time: 6:40 pm ET, Thursday, July 21, 2022
Venue: Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX
Where to Watch: MLB Network
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Moneyline odds: Yankees +100, Astros -120; Over/Under: 8.5 runs
Bet365: Moneyline odds: Yankees +100, Astros -120; Over/Under: 8.5 runs
BetMGM: Moneyline odds: Yankees +105, Astros -125; Over/Under: 8 runs
Season Record
New York Yankees: 64-28 (1st place, AL East)
Houston Astros: 59-32 (1st place, AL West)
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Recent Form
New York Yankees: 5-5 last 10
Houston Astros: 6-4 last 10
New York Yankees vs Houston Astros Preview and Analysis
The Yankees enter this game on a 2 game winning streak. They won their last series against the Boston Red Sox 2-1 in a 3-game series. They enter this game with a 64-28 record overall and have a road record of 27-16. This is the series finale of a 2-game series with the Astros on Thursday with the series opener still to be played on Thursday as they are playing a double-header. Their offense ranks 1st in the MLB with a .776 OPS. Jameson Taillon is their starting pitcher on Thursday in game 1 while Gerrit Cole is making his start in this game 2 on Thursday. He is 9-2 with a 3.02 ERA this season. His team won 3 of their last 4 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last start, he allowed 2 ER, 1 HR, and 0 BB with 12 Ks on 4 hits through 7 IP against the Boston Red Sox.
The Astros lost 2 of their last 3 games and enter this game off of a loss. They lost their last series against the Oakland Athletics 2-1 in a 3-game series. They enter this game with a 59-32 record overall and have a home record of 28-14. This is the 2nd game of a 2-game series with the Yankees on Thursday and game 2 of the double-header they are playing. Their offense ranks 6th in the MLB with a .739 OPS. Cristian Javier is on the mound on Thursday in game 1 while Luis Garcia will be throwing the first pitch in this game 2 on Thursday. He is 7-5 with a 3.65 ERA this season. His team won their last 5 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last start, he allowed 1 ER, 0 HRs, and 3 BB with 7 Ks on 1 hit through 6 IP against the Los Angeles Angels.
Yankees vs Astros Prediction
The current betting odds have the Yankees listed as a slight underdog in this game. The Yankees are down 3-2 in the season series against the Astros but most of the games have been very close and the Yankees still have the best record in the MLB. Both of these teams have had a break over the last few days with the All-Star break so the teams should be well rested here but this will also be the 2nd game of a double-header on Thursday here. The Yankees were getting very hot going into the All-Star break with all the runs they were scoring, scoring 13 or more runs in each of their last 2 games. The Astros lost their series against the A's going into the break though and their pitching has not been great recently either, which has been their strength all season. The starters are going to be expected to go deep here and the bullpens should be rested after that break but with the Yankees have been scoring, they may see a few of the Astros pitchers here and they will be eager to take the season series lead here over a team that they have had a long history with over the past few seasons. The Yankees offense is very hot right now and if the Astros pitching staff is not at their best here, which they have not been in recent games, then the Yankees may just pull away in this one by scoring too many runs for the Astros to keep up with. The best way to place a bet here is on the Yankees to win this game.
Yankees Astros Prediction: Our MLB Pick for Thursday, July 21, 2022 (6:40 pm ET start time) is Yankees 7 Astros 4.
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MLB Betting Trends
New York Yankees: 87-70 (-10.1 Units) ML in road games. 129-89 (-8 Units) ML against right-handed starters. 10-3 UNDER against AL West opponents.
Houston Astros: 59-32 (+11 Units) ML in all games. 39-22 (+8.8 Units) ML against right-handed starters. 55-32 UNDER in all games.
Key Injuries
New York Yankees: L. Severino (SP) Out indefinitely - Shoulder. D. German (SP) Late July - Shoulder. C. Green (RP) out for season - Elbow.
Houston Astros: M. Brantley (LF) Out indefinitely - Shoulder. Y. Alvarez (DH) Late July - Hand. J. Castro (C) Out indefinitely - Knee.
Notable Quotes
"Great job by them. Been a little bit of a rough week obviously. To answer last night and today with two pretty emphatic victories, you want to roll into the break feeling good." - Aaron Boone after his team’s win against the Red Sox on Sunday.
"It is disappointing. It seems any time we had a miscue, they took advantage of it. It was a tough one to lose. We wanted to go into the break on a positive, and now, we don't have much choice other than to regroup and get it back together when we start against the Yankees." - Dusty Baker after his team’s loss against the Athletics on Sunday.
Starting Lineups
New York Yankees
DJ LeMahieu (R) 3B
Aaron Judge (R) CF
Anthony Rizzo (L) 1B
Gleyber Torres (R) 2B
Matt Carpenter (L) DH
Aaron Hicks (S) LF
Isiah Kiner-Falefa (R) SS
Tim Locastro (R) RF
Kyle Higashioka (R) C
Houston Astros
Jose Altuve (R) 2B
Jeremy Pena (R) SS
Kyle Tucker (L) DH
Alex Bregman (R) 3B
Aledmys Diaz (R) LF
Yuli Gurriel (R) 1B
Chas McCormick (R) RF
Jake Meyers (R) CF
Martin Maldonado (R) C
Statistical Leaders
New York Yankees
Batting Average: Matt Carpenter (.354)
Hits: Aaron Judge (96)
Home Runs: Aaron Judge (33)
RBI: Aaron Judge (70)
Stolen Bases: Isiah Kiner-Falefa (13)
Wins: Jameson Taillon (10)
Saves: Clay Holmes (16)
ERA: David McKay (0.00)
Houston Astros
Batting Average: Yordan Alvarez (.306)
Hits: Yordan Alvarez (82)
Home Runs: Yordan Alvarez (26)
RBI: Kyle Tucker (62)
Stolen Bases: Kyle Tucker (15)
Wins: Justin Verlander (12)
Saves: Ryan Pressly (19)
ERA: Ryne Stanek (0.57)
Managers:
New York Yankees: Aaron Boone (5th season)
Houston Astros: Dusty Baker (3rd season)