This article is part of our MLB Picks series.
MLB Best Bets Today: Houston Astros @ Cleveland Guardians
We're winding down here in the MLB regular season with just the final weekend left. It's been a cool experience to see this final month take place with teams willing themselves into the postseason. Talking to you, Detroit. There's not much left, but we have the final slate. Let's roll.
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Houston Astros (+100) @ Cleveland Guardians (-118) | Total: O/U 7.5 (-115/-105)
Remember this matchup because in about 10 days we could very well be seeing these two meet again, but in the divisional round of the playoffs. This is an intriguing showdown to close out the regular season. I'm sure a lot of people, myself included, didn't think Cleveland would have locked up a top-two seed in the American League when they saw the schedule back in the winter. Even though Houston is locked into that No. 3 seed, the Guardians are just 0.5 games back of the Yankees for the top seed. There's a lot on the line, but Houston isn't just going to step aside.
I remember back in about April or May when Seattle was 10 games up in the American League West. I went on some podcasts talking about that division and said it's early and to not sleep on Houston. Here we are with the Astros taking home another American League West crown (four straight and seven of the last eight). This is what they do, and they only get better in October.
Ronel Blanco has been a relatively unsung member of the Astros rotation, but he's been important. Rolling out a 2.88 ERA this season, Blanco has played his best baseball lately, allowing just two runs in his last four outings (19 innings) with H-Town winning all four of those games. Additionally, Blanco has dealt on the road with an impressive 2.52 ERA and .200 opponent batting average. He'll see a Guardians offense that has picked up some steam down the stretch, led by the most underpromoted superstar in modern MLB history, Jose Ramirez. Ramirez has been one of the best players over the last seven years or so, but he's putting together his best year yet. Just two homers away from the coveted 40/40 season, Ramirez will lead the charge against Blanco.
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Cleveland turns to first-year lefty Joey Cantillo. He only made his debut on July 28th. After a bad first four outings, he's turned it up a notch in his last three starts, allowing only two earned runs in 16.1 innings. The Astros' offense was stifled by the Mariners' staff, scoring just one run each in two of their three contests. Against left-handed pitchers, they're ripping a .269 average and .752 OPS. However, the big miss will be Yordan Alvarez not traveling with the team as he's dealing with a knee injury. Nonetheless, they have enough options to steal this contest as the road underdog.
Just because this game means more to Cleveland doesn't mean they win here. It's not a bad spot for the Guardians, but I think the Astros have the starting pitching edge. It should go down to the wire, but I like Houston to take this one.
Pick: Astros ML (+100 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
