The Houston Astros and Los Angeles Angels will square off on ESPN tonight. They’ll meet in Angel Stadium for a surprisingly meaningful AL West battle — the 19-16 Angels have a chance to defend the second spot in the division from the 17-17 Astros, who are hot on their heels. Let’s dive into the Astros-Angels odds for our best MLB bet — we’re buying a first-five innings wager on Monday night.
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Best Astros-Angels Bet: Books Sleeping on Today’s Pitchers
Houston Astros vs. Los Angeles Angels Odds
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
Houston Astros: -122 | Los Angeles Angels: +104
Over 9: +100 | Under 9: -122
Two reasonably successful pitchers will take the mound on Monday night. The Astros will send out Hunter Brown, who owns a 3-1 record and a 2.6 ERA on the season. Brown ranks fourth among Houston’s starting pitchers in FiveThirtyEight’s rolling game score, but his score of 53.6 still slots in above the division average. The Angels will start Patrick Sandoval, who owns a 3-1 record with a 2.93 ERA. He ranks second on the team in the metric at 54.
The books have set the total for Monday’s game at a full nine runs. The Astros have received a total of nine or higher just four times all season and are 3-0-1 to the under in those games. Houston’s offense ranks a lowly 26th in OPS (0.677) but still slots in 15th in runs per game (4.38). The Angels have often received totals this lofty but are still 11-6-1 to the under when the total is set to nine runs or more. L.A. ranks 10th in OPS (0.755) and eighth in runs per game (5.26).
With competent starting pitchers on the mound for both teams, I’m attracted to the betting markets for the first five inning. The ‘Stros lead the MLB in first-five runs allowed (1.79) and rank 26th in first-five runs scored (2.12). The Angels may rank 22nd in first-five runs allowed (2.94) and third in first-five runs scored (3.6), but they have had the benefit of two early season series against the Oakland Athletics — 39 of L.A.’s 126 first-five runs (30.9%) came in theirs seven games against the A’s. They would rank sixth in first-five runs scored (3.1) if not for those games.
We can get the first five under 4.5 at -104 via FanDuel Sportsbook, but bettors who shop around can find the same bet priced at +100 via DraftKings Sportsbook. Pinnacle, a sharp book, has the same bet priced at -103. Let’s lock in this play at DraftKings for the best deal before this number disappears. If you haven’t signed up for DraftKings yet, you can get $150 in bonus bets after winning a $5 moneyline wager!
Best Astros-Angels MLB Bet: First Five Under 4.5 +100 at DraftKings
