Astros vs. Dodgers Odds, Preview, Picks, & Prediction — August 3rd
Astros vs. Dodgers Odds
| Astros Odds | +135 |
| Dodgers | -167 |
| Over/Under | 8.5 |
| Date | Wednesday, Aug. 3 |
| Time | 10:10 pm ET |
| TV | SportsNet LA |
| Odds accurate as of Tuesday at BetMGM | |
| Click Here to Bet $20 on Any MLB Game & Win $100 Regardless of Outcome! | |
The Los Angeles Dodgers were the clear winners of the trade deadline — acquiring both Max Scherzer and Trea Turner from the Washington Nationals, without having to give up any relevant Major League talent on their roster. Already one of the best teams in baseball, bettors are now going to be forced to pay an extremely steep price on the Dodgers moneyline in every game they play for the rest of the regular season. Tonight, the Dodgers welcome the Houston Astros to town to begin a brief two-game set. The starting pitching matchup will feature “(player-popup #lance-mccullers)Lance McCullers Jr for Houston, who will be opposed by Walker Buehler. The betting odds unsurprisingly favor the Dodgers across online sportsbooks.
Astros vs. Dodgers Preview
Although we are nearly four years removed from the 2017 World Series, the rosters for each of these two teams remain largely the same. There is still plenty of rancor from the Los Angeles dugout over the Astros cheating scandal that allegedly played a role in Houston defeating Los Angeles in seven games to win the championship.
McCullers Jr. was the winning pitcher of record in Game 3 of the 2017 World Series, which only adds to the intrigue ahead of this matchup. In 2021, he owns a 3.23 ERA, 3.18 xERA, and a 3.39 FIP through 17 turns in the rotation. McCullers possesses one of the best curveballs in baseball, but a below-value fastball has led to him giving up a considerable amount of hard-contact this season. He ranks in the 20th percentile or worse in average exit-velocity and hard-hit percentage. His 11.7 percent walk-rate puts him in the 16th percentile of qualified pitchers. McCullers Jr. is good enough to be dominant against weaker lineups, evident by his 3.79 ERA and 2.20 FIP over his last six starts against below-average offenses. Facing the Dodgers lineup tonight will likely be the toughest test of his season.
Buehler had a slightly late start to Spring Training, which may have contributed to a less than stellar start to the year. However, he has been arguably the best pitcher in baseball since the end of June. Over his last six starts, he owns a 1.38 ERA and a 1.70 FIP. During that stretch, he has posted an incredibly impressive 30.2 strikeout-percentage against a 6.7 percent walk-rate, not to mention an elite 0.85 WHIP. Tonight, he will face a Houston lineup that ranks second in OPS and fifth in ISO over the last two weeks, but expect Buehler to nevertheless have another strong performance.
Betting Picks
In this matchup, the Dodgers have the clear starting pitching advantage, but Houston’s lineup has performed much better than Los Angeles over the last few weeks. Houston will be without their closer Ryan Pressly in this one. Bettors should lean towards the Dodgers, despite the heavy price, but make it a small wager considering that Houston’s offense has the potential to make them dangerous on any given night.
Pick: Dodgers ML (-175)
Over/Under 8.5 Runs
Over the last three years, Dodger Stadium has graded as exactly league average in terms of offensive production in night games. However, in 2021, the venue ranks seventh out of 30 ballparks in offensive production under the lights—notably, producing 35 percent more home runs than league average.
At first pitch tonight, the temperature is forecasted to be in the low-80s with relatively low humidity and a slight wind blowing out towards right-center field. These are near perfect conditions to hit a baseball. Over the last two weeks, Houston’s offense ranks in the top-five in both OPS and ISO, but the Dodgers rank only 14th in OPS and 16th in ISO. Both bullpens rank 13th or worse in FIP over the last 30 days, although, having an off-day yesterday should mean that each team has their full arsenal available for the latter frames.
Perhaps for many of the aforementioned reasons, the market price on this total has been bet up rather significantly since opening. Nine runs is a tall order against two very capable pitchers in McCullers Jr. and Buehler, even for two good offenses playing in weather conditions conducive to offense. The under has some value in this one.
Pick: Under 8.5 (-110)
Image Credit: Imagn