The ALCS is moving to New York and Game 3 will be played on Saturday, October 22, so make sure you don’t miss out on the Astros vs. Yankees betting pick and odds.
Houston and New York will play the third of a best-of-seven ALCS series at Yankee Stadium, and the Yankees are -145 moneyline favorites on FanDuel NY Sportsbook, while the total is set at 7 runs. These conference foes have met seven times before this playoff series, and the Astros lead 5-2. They also won the first two games of the current series.
Astros successfully defended the home turf
The Houston Astros exploited the fact that the New York Yankees had to play three games in three days, two against them. Houston took a 2-0 lead in the ALCS and now all the pressure is on the Yankees to respond. After winning 4-2 in the opener, Houston secured a 3-2 victory.
Alex Bregman hit a three-run homer in the 3rd inning to give a 3-0 lead to the Astros, and although the Yankees bounced back in the 4th with a pair of runs, the scoreline didn’t change for the remainder of the tilt. Framber Valdez was exceptional in his start as he pitched for 7.0 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts and no walks. Ryan Pressly earned his third save of the postseason.
Cristian Javier (11-9, 0-0 in the playoffs) will get the first postseason start of his career when he meets the Yankees on Saturday in Game 3 of the ALCS. The 25-year-old right-hander started 25 games this year and owns a rock-solid 2.54 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 194/52 K/BB ratio in 148.2 innings of work.
Yankees scored just four runs in the opening two ALCS games
The New York Yankees participated in an exhausting ALDS against the Cleveland Guardians, and they needed five games to get out of it victorious. That cost them two games in the ALCS as they didn’t have a single day of rest. The Yankees are 2-0 down to the Astros, but at least now they had a day to rally the troops and try to come back into this series.
New York tried to come back in Game 2 and responded with a couple of runs in the 4th inning. Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres chipped in an RBI apiece to make it 3-2 for Houston, but New York failed to score in the remaining five innings. Luis Severino pitched well across 5.1 innings in a loss, surrendering three runs on five hits with six strikeouts and a walk.
Gerrit Cole (13-8, 2-0 in the playoffs) will take the mound for the Yankees against the Astros in Game 3 of the ALCS on Saturday. The 32-year-old right-hander had started 33 games this season and has a 3.50 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and 257/50 K/BB ratio over 200.2 innings.
Trends:
Houston:
- 5-0 in the last five playoff games
- 4-0 in the last four vs. American League East rivals
- 5-0 in the last five games vs. a right-handed starter
New York:
- 0-4 in the last four vs. American League West opponents
- 1-4 in the last five after scoring two runs or less in their previous game
Houston Astros vs. New York Yankees Pick
The Yankees are still not playing with their back up against the wall, but it’s not going to be easy to overcome a 2-0 deficit. Gerrit Cole, a former Astros ace, lost the lone start against Houston this year, although he registered a 1.29 ERA in 7.0 innings. He has a solid record against the Astros’ batters. Cristian Javier, on the other end, dominated the Yankees in two starts this season. Javier got a win with a microscopic 0.75 ERA across 12.0 innings. At the moment, I believe the Astros’ batters are a bit better, and even if the visitors don’t win this game, I am backing them to stay really close.
Sports Betting NY Pick: Take the Houston Astros at +1.5 (-161)
The Total
We didn’t see more than six combined runs in the opening two games of this series, and given the starters on Saturday, I don’t think we will see a high-scoring affair. Both Javier and Cole were excellent against their respective rivals this year, and now in the playoffs, I expect them to be even better. Cole knows that he cannot afford more than a run or two if he wants to keep his team alive in the ALCS. Under is 6-1-1 in the last eight H2H meetings; Under is 19-5-2 in the Astros’ previous 26 vs. American League East rivals, while Under is 7-2 in the Yankees’ last nine League Championship games.
Pick: Go Under 7 runs (-110)
