Houston Astros vs. Baltimore Orioles: Picks, Predictions, Odds and Player Props

It’s an American League showdown in Maryland on Friday night as the Baltimore Orioles and Houston Astros continue their four-game series.

The Astros won easily on Thursday night by a score of 6-0 behind a fantastic outing from Spencer Arrighetti, and next up in the Houston rotation will be Hunter Brown. 

Baltimore is countering the young right-hander with a rookie, Cade Povich. It’s shaping up to be an exciting game and a possible postseason matchup, so let’s get into our expert’s preview and best bets for this one.

Houston Astros vs. Baltimore Orioles betting picks and predictions

Astros ML (-115)

The Orioles are hitting a slump at a bad time. Baltimore has lost five of their last seven games and were just shut out by Spencer Arrighetti and the Astros bullpen on Thursday night.

The lineup managed just three hits all game, and that has become a common theme lately. Baltimore has finished with three or less hits in three of their last five games.

The dangerous and youthful lineup has started to falter lately and it’s not going to get easier on Friday night against Hunter Brown.

The Houston right-hander has been phenomenal lately since he’s had a sub-4.00 ERA in the last four months. Brown was nearly perfect in June with a 4-0 record and a 1.16 ERA and carried his success into the second half of the season with a 4-1 record and a 2.25 ERA in six starts.

In his three starts this month, Brown is 2-0 with a 1.96 ERA and has limited hitters to a .194 batting average with just a 20 percent hard-hit rate.

The Orioles were excited about the impact Cade Povich could make to the rotation. Baltimore suffered several injuries to their starting rotation in just a matter of a few weeks, and it allowed an opportunity for Povich to make an impact at the MLB level.

However, his first trip to the big leagues didn’t go too smoothly. Povich posted a 1-5 record with a 6.27 ERA in his first eight starts. His struggles forced the Orioles to send him back to Triple-A, but it wasn’t long before Povich returned.

The lefty is back in the rotation and now has to face one of the best lefty-hitting teams in the game. There’s not a lot of reason to trust Povich right now since he hasn’t proven himself at this level yet, so since Brown has been on a tear and the O’s lineup is slumping right now, the Astros are the pick in this game.

Under 9.0 (-115)

Povich is going to be the key to this game for the Orioles. He struggled in his first stint in the Majors since his swing and miss stuff wasn’t being chased and causing plenty of walks.

However, he looked much stronger in his last outing against the Red Sox as he allowed two runs, six hits, and zero walks in 6.1 innings. His control appeared to be much better and he was able to be much more efficient which allowed his pitch count to stay low.

It won’t get any easier for him here since he has to face Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, and Yordan Alvarez to begin the game. But if Povich can avoid letting those three hitters change the game, he can pitch to contact with the bottom of the order and get the outs he needs.

And we’re not expecting too much run support for Povich since the O’s lineup ranks 23rd in batting average and 16th in OPS in the last week.

The pitcher that we have plenty of confidence in is Brown. After a rough April, Brown has been the heart and soul of the Houston rotation.

He’s been as reliable as they come since he’s allowed more than three earned runs just twice in his last 16 starts. Plus, Brown has been great at going deep in games and keeping the bullpen fresh.

He’s completed at least six innings in 14 of his last 16 starts. If he can do that in this one, that means the Houston bullpen can deploy Bryan Abreu, Seth Martinez, and Josh Hader to close out the game.

We’re not expecting either lineup to thrive here, so lean towards the under in the second game of the series.

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Houston Astros vs. Baltimore Orioles odds

Houston Astros	-115 ML
Baltimore Orioles	-105 ML
Run Line	Astros -1.5 (+140)
Total	O/U 9.0

Houston Astros vs. Baltimore Orioles player props

Player Home Run Odds

Jose Altuve	+600
Yordan Alvarez	+400
Alex Bregman	+700
Anthony Santander	+550
Gunnar Henderson	+700
Cedric Mullins	+1100

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.