The Houston Astros head to Philadelphia for an MLB betting series for the second time since the former moved to the American League. The ‘Stros and the Phillies faced one another in the 1980 National Championship Series after which the latter would go on to win their first of two World Series championships.
Time: 7:05 PM
Venue: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Online gambling odds for fans who bet on baseball:
Astros -1½ (EV) 9½ (-110) -156
Phillies +1½ (-120) 9½ (-110) +146
Houston Astros (65-33)
On the mound: Brad Peacock (RHP, 8-1, 2.49 ERA, 93 K) has won six of his last eight appearances in which he has a 2.70 ERA. Additionally, he has a 2.62 road ERA, limiting hitters to .211. He allowed the Mariners one run in seven innings on July 18th. Peacock is the only pitcher in the MLB this season with nine or more starts and seven or more games finished. The Florida native picked up a loss against Philly when Houston was swept 3-0 when the two teams last met in August 2014.
Miscellanea: Rookie third baseman Colin Moran was placed on the DL after sustaining a facial fracture on Saturday night, when he fouled Orioles reliever Darren O’Day’s inside pitch into his own face. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot. Tyler White was called up to take Moran’s on the 25-man roster. Houston has the second-best record in the Majors, trailing only the Los Angeles Dodgers, as well as the largest division lead in the MLB, 17 games ahead of the Angels, Mariners and Rangers in the AL West.
Trends for fans who bet on baseball: The Astros have won 12 and covered in 13 of their last 17 road games. The MLB betting has gone over in 13 of their last 18 games and over in eight of their last nine on the road.
Philadelphia Phillies (34-62)
On the mound: Vince Velasquez (RHP, 2-5, 5.14 ERA, 57 K) will start versus his erstwhile team for the first time since Houston traded him to Philadelphia in December 15th as part of the Ken Giles deal, which also included Mark Appel and Tom Eshelman – who are both in Triple-A Lehigh Valley. This will be his second start after spending six weeks on the 10-day DL. Velasquez allowed Miami just two runs – one earned – on four hits in six innings on Tuesday. The Marlins went just 2-for-13 against Velasquez’s four-seam fastball. Velasquez’s batting average allowed with that pitch ranks third best among starting pitchers who have at least 100 plate appearances against the four-seamer.
Trends for fans who bet on baseball: The Phillies are 4-1 straight-up and 5-0 against the spread in their last five games, and 4-1 ATS in their last five home games and 5-0 SU in their last five times hosting the Astros. The MLB betting total has gone under in 12 of Philly’s last 17 games, under in five of their last six at home, and over in five of their last seven meetings with Houston.