Surging Orioles Look To Win Fifth Series In A Row

Houston Turns to Rookie Pitcher In Series Opener Against Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles made quite the statement with 10 extra-base hits in a 17-5 victory to clinch the series against their American League East rival New York Yankees and pull within 0.5 games of first place in the division and in the MLB American League. Now Baltimore heads to Houston trying to continue its recent surge. The Orioles vs Astros predictions have Baltimore as the favorite in the series opener.

This has been a streaky series with Baltimore having winning streaks against the Astros of five and three games in a row while Houston recently won four in a row against the Orioles. Heading into the series, the road team has been favored in seven of the last 10 games.

• The MLB expert picks list Baltimore at -155 in Friday’s series opener with +105 odds at -1.5 on the run line. Houston has +130 odds to open the series with a victory against a Baltimore team looking to take over first place in the MLB American League standings.
• Baltimore is tied for fourth at +900 in the World Series odds. The championship odds have gone from +750 to +2200 for the Astros since the start of the season.

Orioles vs Astros Probable Starting Pitchers

• Friday: Grayson Rodriguez (Orioles); Jake Bloss (Astros)
• Saturday: Corbin Burnes (Orioles); Ronel Blanco (Astros)
• Sunday: Albert Suarez (Orioles); Framber Valdez (Astros)

Welcome to the Show

With the injuries piling up for the Astros, Houston is turning to 2023 third-round pick Jake Bloss against a Baltimore lineup that leads the majors with 119 home runs, 390 runs scored, and a .455 slugging percentage. Also, Baltimore is countering with Cy Young candidate Grayson Rodriguez. That could factor into the Orioles vs Astros predictions.

Bloss is 4-2 with a 1.74 ERA in 12 minor-league starts this season. He is set to become the ninth different Houston pitcher to start a game this season and the 26th pitcher to throw for the perennial World Series contender.

It has been quite the journey for Bloss as he pitched in just seven games in 2023 after signing with the Astros.
Houston will turn to Ronel Blanco and Framber Valdez in the series’ final two games.

Five of Houston’s last six games went under the total.

Santander Delivering the Power

Anthony Santander came into June with nine home runs. He has topped that number with 10 homers in the last 19 games and that is two more than any player in June.

With his next home run, Baltimore will become the first team with two players with at least 20 homers as Gunnar Henderson is second among the MLB league leaders with 22 home runs this season.

Nine different Orioles have at least two home runs in June. Austin Hays, Ryan O’Hearn, and Henderson are all batting .333 or higher in June.

Houston is in the middle of the pack with 19 home runs allowed in June.

When looking at the Orioles vs Astros predictions, remember that four of Baltimore’s last six games went over the total.

Who’s Hot

• Jose Altuve, Houston Astros 2B: Altuve has at least two hits in six of his last 11 games.
• Ronel Blanco, Houston Astros P: Blanco pitched seven hitless innings the last time out. He has allowed three hits and one run with 16 strikeouts in 13 innings in his last two starts.
• Anthony Santander, Baltimore Orioles OF: Santander is 8-for-25 with seven runs, five home runs, and 11 RBIs in his last seven games.
• Dillon Tate, Baltimore Orioles P: Tate has allowed three hits and no earned runs with five strikeouts in five innings over his last five appearances.

Who’s Not

• Jorge Mateo, Baltimore Orioles 2B: Mateo has two hits in his last 16 at-bats and has no extra-base hits in his last seven games.
• Parker Mushinski, Houston Astros P: Mushinski gave up three hits and three runs in two innings over his last three outings.
• Jeremy Pena, Houston Astros SS: Pena is 1-for-32 with 10 strikeouts in his last nine games.
• Cionel Perez, Baltimore Orioles P: Perez has surrendered seven hits and five runs in 2.2 innings over his last four outings.

Orioles vs Astros Injury Update

Pitchers Felix Bautista, Kyle Bradish, and John Means are out for the season for the Orioles while Dean Kremer is expected back at some point this month.

Catcher Victor Caratini is questionable for the Astros and outfielder Kyle Tucker is out. It could still be a couple of weeks before pitchers Lance McCullers, Justin Verlander, and Penn Murfee will return for the Astros.

Orioles vs Astros Betting Preview

While some were waiting for the cream to rise to the top even as the losses piled up for the Astros, as the season approaches the midway point, the Houston Astros’ standings have them five games under .500 and 19-19 at home. It won’t get much easier with the streaking Baltimore Orioles coming to Minute Maid Park for a weekend series.

Since the start of the 2021 season, only the Los Angeles Dodgers have been listed as the home underdog less frequently than the Astros. Houston is 2-2 against the run line as a home underdog and the Orioles could be favored in multiple games in this series.

• Baltimore has covered in 14 of 23 games as the road favorite.
• The Orioles are 39-19 as a favorite this season while Houston is 7-7 as the underdog.
• Baltimore is 24-11 against the spread on the road while Houston has covered just 17 of 38 home dates.
• The Orioles have seen 19 road games land over the total while 20 home games for the Astros finished under the total. The total is at 8.5 for the series opener.

For MLB betting news, baseball odds analysis, and more, visit Point SpreadsSports Magazine.

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