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The Baltimore Orioles (49-26) and Houston Astros (36-40) play game 2 of their 3-game series Saturday. First pitch from Minute Maid Park is slated for 4:10 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the Orioles vs. Astros odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Astros lead 1-0
The Orioles are in the midst of a 6-game road trip, which started with taking 2 of 3 at the New York Yankees. However, they dropped Friday’s opener of this series 14-11 as -150 favorites; the Astros cashed as +138 home ‘dogs. Baltimore SP Grayson Rodriguez (5 IP, 7 ER, 9 H, 1 HR, 2 BB, 8 K) suffered his 1st loss in June after a 3-0 start to the month. SS Gunnar Henderson parked his 23rd and 24th home runs of the season and C Adley Rutschman’s breakout season continued with a 5-for-5 night in the loss, improving his batting average to .305.
Friday’s win was Houston’s 3rd straight. The Astros’ huge offensive night was led by 2B Jose Altuve going 3-for-5 with 2 doubles, 2 RBIs and 2 runs. LF Joey Loperfido also had 3 hits, while 3B Alex Bregman, 1B Jon Singleton and SS Mauricio Dubon each had 2 hits, and CF Jake Meyers hit a 3-run jack.
Orioles at Astros projected starters
RHP Corbin Burnes vs. RHP Ronel Blanco
Burnes (8-2, 2.14 ERA) makes his 16th start. He has a 1.04 WHIP, 2.3 BB/9 and 8.6 K/9 in 92 2/3 innings.
- Last start: Win, 6 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 7 K in 8-3 home victory against the Philadelphia Phillies Sunday
- Hasn’t lost in June — 3-0, 1.35 ERA (20 IP, 3 ER) in 3 starts
- 2024 road splits: 4-1, 2.54 ERA (39 IP, 11 ER), 0.95 WHIP, 7.6 K/9 in 6 starts
- Career vs. Astros: 0-1, 7.50 ERA (6 IP, 5 ER) in 1 start and 1 relief appearance
Blanco (7-2, 2.43 ERA) makes his 14th start. He has a 0.96 WHIP, 3.6 BB/9 and 8.7 K/9 in 77 2/3 innings.
- Last start: Win, 7 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 3 BB, 8 K in 4-1 win against the Detroit Tigers Sunday
- 2024 home splits: 2-2, 2.83 ERA (41 1/3 IP, 13 ER), 0.92 WHIP, 8.3 K/9 in 7 starts
- Never faced Orioles before
Who’s going yard? Here’s a breakdown of today’s best home run props with our top picks. Include the BetMGM bonus code SBWIRE to score a $1,500 first-bet offer.
Orioles at Astros odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 5 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Orioles -154 (bet $154 to win $100) | Astros +130 (bet $100 to win $130)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Orioles -1.5 (+112) | Astros +1.5 (-134)
- Over/Under (O/U): 7.5 (O: -122 | U: +100)
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Orioles at Astros picks and predictions
Prediction
Orioles 3, Astros 2
Moneyline.
PASS.
The Orioles (-154) come out on top Saturday afternoon after failing to comeback Friday night. As much as I like Baltimore to get the win, I’m not interested in betting just over 1½ units with the -154 ML for that to happen. I’ll save my wager for the run line.
Run line/Against the spread
BET ORIOLES -1.5 (+112).
The Astros may be the most disappointing team in the majors, basically playing .500 baseball over the last 30 days. Blanco has been the lone bright spot in their rotation, but he’s struggled in 2 of his last 3 home starts.
The Orioles are road warriors with an MLB-best record of 24-12 away from home. On top of that, they’ve got their ace on the mound Saturday. Burnes has allowed just 3 earned runs over his last 4 starts (27 IP). He has not lost since 8 starts ago on May 7. Baltimore’s pitching staff features a 3.08 ERA on the road and opponents are hitting just .202 against them.
Over/Under
BET UNDER 7.5 (+100).
The Astros are struggling to score runs lately. The Under has hit in 4 of their last 5 games and in 7 of their last 10. It won’t get any easier with Burnes taking the mound for the Orioles.
Meanwhile, the Under is 10-0 in Blanco’s last 10 starts and it’s 11-2 in all 13 of his starts this season.
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