New York Yankees vs Houston Astros Predictions, Odds, Picks

• Battle of the aces
• Yankees looking to end first half on a high note
• X-factor to watch on both sides

New York Yankees vs Houston Astros Odds

Odds presented by: DraftKings Sportsbook

Trends to Watch (As of 7/9)

• Yankees are 16-6 in their last 22 during game 2 of a series
• Yankees are 8-3 in their last 11 games vs. a starter with a WHIP less than 1.15
• Over is 4-1 in Yankees last 5 Saturday games
• Over is 6-2 in Yankees last 8 overall
• Over is 5-2 in Yankees last 7 vs. a team with a winning record
• Over is 3-0-1 in the last 4 head-to-head meetings
• Astros are 6-0 in their last 6 games vs. a starter with a WHIP less than 1.15
• Astros are 4-1 in their last 5 games vs. a right-handed starter
• Astros are 20-7 in their last 27 home games vs. a team with a winning record
• Astros are 36-17 in their last 53 overall
• Under is 5-1 in Astros last 6 Saturday games
• Under is 4-1 in Astros last 5 overall
• Over is 7-2 in Astros last 9 home games vs. a right-handed starter

New York Yankees vs Houston Astros Predictions and Picks

Garcia’s 2021 record: (35-30-2)

How to Watch New York Yankees vs Houston Astros

Who Will Come Out on Top in Pitchers Duel

The Yankees and Astros are set to square off Saturday, both with hopes that their ace will lead them toward the All-Star break with another win.

The Astros get set behind Zack Grienke, who despite being age 37 continues to pitch fantastic baseball. He’s top 10 in wins in all of baseball (yes, he plays on the Astros so he gets a lot of run support) at 8-2 overall, to go with a 3.64 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 82 strikeouts in 111.1 innings.

Grienke had another solid outing in his last appearance, gong 7.2 innings, giving up three runs on five hits to go with one walk and eight strikeouts as Houston beat Cleveland 4-3 in 10 innings.

On the other side, Gerrit Cole has been great, but he’s been under the microscope even more than usual as of late after the MLB announced it would crack down on its foreign sticky substance policy.

And, frankly, he’s struggled his last two starts (which many presume is his first without a foreign aid) in quite some time. Cole has given up nine total earned runs in 8.1 combined innings his last two outings and his ERA across his past six starts is 5.24 and he’s striking out fewer than 10 per nine innings during that span.

In total, he’s given up five runs or more three times in his last nine starts, so there’s a genuine reason to wonder which Cole will show up. Not to mention, this is Cole’s first start in Houston since the Game 7 loss against the Nationals in the 2019 World Series.

Yankees Getting to Crunch Time

We’ve been saying it for weeks and New Yorkers have been saying it for months — but it’s beyond time to be concerned in the Bronx.

The Yankees are 16-23 over their past 39 games entering the series against Houston and currently in fourth place in the AL East, eight games back of the Red Sox for the division lead and 4.5 games back in the AL Wild Card race.

One reason New York has been fading is the lack of production from its offense. Their 358 runs scored this year is third-fewest in the ALL — only two more total runs than the Royals and three more than the Orioles.

Their offense has been especially cold because five of their best hitters are all in slumps. Over the past week, DJ Lemahieu, Gio Urshela, Miguel Andujar, Gleyber Torres and Gary Sanchez are a combined 13-of-83 (.156) with one home run and eight RBIs.

X-Factors to Watch

We’re not going to get cute with the X-factors in this one. For New York, they need a big bopper to step up. That’s Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton is the best batter in the Yankees lineup against righties, hitting .284 with 11 home runs, 31 RBIs and an .894 OPS in 169 at-bats this season.

For Houston, we will take Jose Altuve. He hit a clutch three-run home run in the series in New York back in May to prevent the Yankees from sweeping the series. He’s been cold of late — just 5-of-23 entering the series — but he paces the team with 19 home runs and it wouldn’t be surprising at all if he got another one or two this series.