Houston’s offense just turned up the flame and went from light simmer to full boil real quick, as they’ve now scored 7+ runs in 4 of their last 5 contests. Next on the menu is Cole Irvin, a seasoned veteran — and my gut tells me things are about to get saucy.
Today marks the 5th Irvin/Astros matchup since June 1st, and I’m a firm believer that familiarity benefits bats. He did well limiting Houston to 2 or less runs in 4 straight matchups, but 3 of those games were played in Oakland. When visiting Houston, he’s allowed 4+ runs in 2 of 3 starts since 2021.
At this time, I’d be remiss to not mention that Cole Irvin is on a mini-heater right now. He’s now gone 7 straight starts without allowing more than 2 Earned Runs. Yet the price for a bet on his ‘Over’ 2.5 Earned Runs prop today is -160. Very interesting.
Also supporting a pick on the Astros is the fact they’ve added reinforcements since their last clash with Irvin on July 27th. They’ve since acquired Trey Mancini, and that man was finally unleashed last night, posting a 3 for 4 night with 2 runs, an RBI and a double. As if we needed another reason to back the home squad’s team total today.
I’ll take the favorite to score 5+ runs!
The Pick: Astros Team Total over 4.5 (-115) @ BetMGM
