There’s a ton of interleague action on Saturday, but there are still a couple of American League games that have a lot of value for bettors. The New York Yankees host the Houston Astros in a battle of division leaders, and the Oakland A’s face the Kansas City Royals in a pair of last-place teams. This betting guide will give insight into some of the better value pays for those two games.
Houston Astros (+140) vs New York Yankees (-165)
After getting hammered by the Minnesota Twins on June 9, New York starter Gerrit Cole has been very good in his last two starts and took a no-hitter into the eighth inning of his last outing. He’s given up just one earned run and six hits while striking out 19 over 13.1 innings pitched. Houston starter Cristian Javier has won just two of his last seven starts and has been awful on the road with an ERA of 4.63 in 23.1 innings pitched. Stick with the best team in baseball here and take the Yankees (-165).
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The total has gone under in 10 of Javier’s 13 appearances this season, and the opposition has scored a total of two runs in Cole’s last two starts. The under is also 7-0-1 in Cole’s last eight Saturday starts. These starters have been stingy all season, and things should be low-scoring again in another day game. Take the under (U8.5, -120) again in this one.
Oakland A’s (+135) vs Kansas City Royals (-160)
Oakland starter Jared Koening has just three starts this season and was absolutely hammered in two of them. However, his last start was on June 19, and he threw 5.2 scoreless innings in a 4-0 win against these same Royals. Kansas City starter Brad Keller has a similar tale. He’s 2-8 this season, but his last start was seven innings of one-hit ball in a 2-0 win over Oakland. Keller has been much more consistent at home, and Koenig has been brutal on the road, so take the Royals (-160) in this one.
Both of these starters were sharp in their last start, and both of those starts were against these same teams. Neither of these teams has been consistent at scoring, as both of them rank in the bottom 10 of the league in runs per nine innings. This is a pretty lofty number considering the struggles these teams have had. Add in the potential for some success by the starters, and the under (U9.5, -110) looks like a decent play.
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
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