MLB’s Hottest Teams Face Off When Mets Host Astros
Astros vs Mets Series Predictions
Just a month ago, if you were to tell fans of the Houston Astros and New York Mets that — for this weekend’s series at Citi Field — both teams would be at .500 and firmly back in the MLB playoff Bracket chase, they would have laughed. But that’s a reality now. The Astros have won seven games in a row and the Mets are on an 11-2 heater. Each side is playing incredible baseball at a critical time.
- The Astros vs Mets series predictions have Houston as slight -122 favorites on the moneyline. The total is 8.5 runs (Under juiced to -120).
The Astros started the season 7-19 and looked completely dead in the water. Thanks to a few big winning streaks, including their current one, they are just 4.5 games behind the Seattle Mariners in the AL West.
Houston sandwiched a three-game sweep of the really good Baltimore Orioles with series wins over the lowly Chicago White Sox and Colorado Rockies.
Despite tons of rotation upheaval, Houston has been one of the better MLB expert picks for the good portion of the last month and a half or so.
- New York was in a similar position as Houston even more recently as the Mets were 24-35 on June 2nd. Since then, the Mets have won 15 of their last 19 games and are tearing the absolute cover off the ball.
They have the best offense in baseball this month, have won five series in a row, and just demolished the crosstown Yankees this week, scoring 21 runs on 24 hits over the two games. This MLB team looks scary.
Houston Astros vs New York Mets 
Records: Houston Astros (40-40), New York Mets (39-39)
Date, Time: Friday, June 28, 7:10 PM ET (Game 1)
Location: Citi Field; Queens, NY
Streaming: Apple TV+
Astros’ Rotation Is Hanging On By A Thread
The Astros have an entire starting rotation on the injured list right now. Their current group is Ronel Blanco, Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown, and Spencer Arrighetti with fill-ins as needed for the No. 5 spot.
Those guys have all held their own lately, which is why Vegas is expecting big things with its Astros vs Mets series predictions. They’ll have their hands full with a Mets lineup that is raking from No. 1 through No. 9.
Blanco will start on Friday, Valdez on Saturday, and, tentatively, Shawn Dubin — likely as an opener — is slotted in for Sunday’s series finale.
With his 2.34 ERA, Blanco is routinely one of the best MLB bets today. He is the only Houston starter who has been consistently good from the start of the season.
He has given up just two runs over his last three starts (20 innings), all three of which have been Astros wins. Besides one bad start against the Giants, Valdez has been great in June, pitching to a 2.73 ERA with four starts of two or fewer runs allowed.
Houston is set up well for the first two games of the series but Dubin’s possible start on Sunday is a wild card.
The Astros could call up a starter from the minors for that game. But they’ve already raided their Triple-A club plenty so the best bet is for Dubin to go a few innings before handing things off to the rest of the bullpen.
That could be a recipe for failure against the suddenly explosive Mets.
Mets Don’t Stop Hitting
While Blanco and Valdez have been awesome, don’t let your Astros vs Mets series predictions ignore how the Mets have been routinely destroying top-flight starters during their recent stretch.
From Gerrit Cole to Shōta Imanaga, New York’s offense has produced against anyone in June. It has hit loads of home runs and made hard contact everywhere.
They’ve also cut down on strikeouts and become much more prolific with runners in scoring position.
A big key? The return of Francisco Álvarez. The young backstop is on an absolute tear. He’s gone 15-for-27 during an eight-game hitting streak with three home runs in that period.
Francisco Alvarez of the @Mets hit his 30th career home run tonight at 22 years and 220 days old.
The only catchers in MLB history to reach 30 career home runs at a younger age are Johnny Bench (21y, 242d) and Ivan Rodriguez (22y, 213d). pic.twitter.com/ubl57hrxih
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) June 27, 2024
- New York is 11-3 since he returned from thumb surgery and is an absurd 22-3 in the last 25 games he has appeared in.
Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo, J.D. Martinez, Mark Vientos, and Harrison Bader are just some of the other Mets who have been ripping the cover off the ball as of late.
MLB weather shouldn’t play as much a role on Friday as it did during the Mets’ 12-2 win over the Yankees on Wednesday, which was delayed by 87 minutes in the 5th inning due to a ferocious thunderstorm.
Friday’s forecast in Queens is for nice sunny weather. That’s good news for the respective offenses. With New York’s incredible month, they are now both top-ten units across the board.
Go With Houston On Friday
Blanco is set to face off against the up-and-down José Quintana on Friday. On paper, this looks to be a one-sided matchup. But Quintana has been very sharp lately He’s had consecutive starts of six or more innings and one run allowed. The Mets have laid waste to every pitcher, particularly righties.
But, Blanco gives up so few hits (a league-leading 5.1 per nine innings) that he is well-situated to try and slow down the New York bats.
Consider going with Houston at -122 on the moneyline in what should be a very tight game and series between two teams on the upswing.
- The under 8.5 runs (-115) is also a good call with two starters that are dealing.
For MLB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
