Houston Astros vs New York Yankees Expert Game 1 Picks 10/12/2019

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Minute Maid Park

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Zack Greinke

Minute Maid Park is the venue where Jose Altuve and the Houston Astros (107-55, 1st in AL West) will take on the New York Yankees (103-59, 1st in AL East) on Saturday in Game 1 of the ALCS. The Astros open this game at -157 while the Yankees are priced at +147. The over/under opens at 8.5.

The Yankees have been a great bet for bettors, having gone 106-59-0 SU. Houston is covering 65.9% of the time, going 110-57-0 straight up.

Valuable New York Yankees Betting Trends

The Yankees have been an inconsistent Under play for O/U baseball bettors, having gone 86-73-6.

The Yankees are covering 56.2% of the time as the road team, having gone 45-35-0 straight up.

Important Houston Astros Betting Trends

The Astros are covering 75.0% of the time at Minute Maid Park, going 63-21-0 SU.

The Astros have been an inconsistent Under play for O/U baseball bettors, having gone 74-86-7.

Related: Gambling 101 - MLB Betting Tips - Tony George of Doc’s Sports

Key New York Yankees Injuries

10/11/2019 Jonathan Holder RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Oct 12
10/8/2019 Aaron Hicks CF Elbow Expected to be out until at least Oct 12
9/19/2019 Greg Bird 1B Foot Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2020
9/18/2019 Dellin Betances RP Achilles Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2020
9/10/2019 Mike Tauchman LF Calf Expected to be out until at least Oct 21
9/8/2019 Jacoby Ellsbury CF Foot Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2020
9/1/2019 Jake Barrett RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Mar 1, 2020
5/21/2019 Miguel Andujar DH Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2020

Key Houston Astros Injuries

9/27/2019 Aaron Sanchez SP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Jul 1, 2020
9/17/2019 Collin McHugh RP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2020
6/9/2019 Lance McCullers SP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Feb 1, 2020

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Yankees have a 103-59 overall record this season. Starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka has a 11-9 record with an earned run average of 4.45 and a WHIP of 1.24 this season. He has 149 strikeouts over his 182 innings pitched and he's given up 186 hits. He's allowed 9.2 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 4.27. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.08 and they have given up 610 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .239 against the bullpen and they've struck out 750 hitters and walked 267 batters. As a team, New York allows 8.6 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.6 batters per nine innings. They are 14th in the league in team earned run average at 4.31. The Yankees pitchers collectively have given up 1,374 base hits and 691 earned runs. They have allowed 248 home runs this season, ranking them 7th in the league. New York as a pitching staff has walked 507 batters and struck out 1,534. They have walked 3.2 men per 9 innings while striking out 9.6 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.30 and their FIP as a unit is 4.47.

Related: Get MLB predictions on all of today's games

Hitting Statistics

As a team New York is hitting .267, good for 4th in the league. The Yankees hold a .490 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .339, which is good for 4th in baseball. They rank 6th in MLB with 9.2 hits per game. Aaron Judge is hitting .272 with an on-base percentage of .381. He has 103 hits this season in 378 at bats with 55 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .540 and an OPS+ of 143. DJ LeMahieu is hitting .327 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .375. He has totaled 197 hits and he has driven in 102 men in 602 at bats. His OPS+ is 136 while his slugging percentage is at .518. The Yankees have 1,493 hits, including 290 doubles and 306 home runs. New York has walked 569 times so far this season and they have struck out 1,437 times as a unit. They have left 1,039 men on base and have a team OPS of .829. They score 5.82 runs per contest and have scored a total of 943 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Houston has a 107-55 overall mark this year. With an earned run average of 2.93, Zack Greinke has a 18-5 record and a 0.98 WHIP. He has 187 strikeouts over the 208.2 innings he's pitched. He also has given up 175 hits. He's allowing 7.5 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 3.22. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.75 and they have given up 470 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .224 against the Astros bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 608 batters and walked 197 opposing hitters. As a team, Houston allows 7.4 hits per nine innings while striking out 10.3 batters per nine innings. They are 3rd in the league in team earned run average at 3.66. The Astros pitchers as a team have surrendered 1,205 base knocks and 595 earned runs this season. They have given up 230 home runs this year, which ranks 12th in Major League Baseball. Houston as a staff has walked 448 hitters and struck out 1,671 batters. They give up a walk 2.8 times per 9 innings while they strike out 10.3 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.13 while their FIP as a staff is 3.98.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .274, good for 1st in the league. The Astros hold a .495 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .352, which is good for 1st in baseball. They rank 3rd in MLB with 9.5 hits per contest. Jose Altuve comes into this matchup batting .298 with an OBP of .353. He has 149 hits this year along with 74 RBI in 500 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .550 with an OPS+ of 131. George Springer is hitting .292 this season and he has an OBP of .383. He has collected 140 hits in 479 at bats while driving in 96 runs. He has an OPS+ of 150 and a slugging percentage of .591. The Astros as a unit have 1,538 base hits, including 323 doubles and 288 homers. Houston has walked 645 times this year and they have struck out on 1,166 occasions. They have had 1,168 men left on base and have an OPS of .848. They have scored 5.68 runs per game and totaled 920 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Yankees/Astros MLB game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Astros (-157)

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