Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Houston Astros MLB Picks and Predictions: June 4, 2026
Written by: Nate Hornung
Published: Thu Jun 04, 2026, 2:40 pm ET
Read Time: 5 minutes
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The Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros play their final head to head game of the season tonight in Texas. These two teams only meet for this three game series, where things are tied up at one game a piece. The Pirates took down their hosts on Tuesday, winning 10-6, but the Astros bounced back last night, with an 11-9 win of their own. Tonight's matchup is for all the marbles and bragging rights for the foreseeable future, as it is unlikely the two meet again this season. Let's get into our favorite MLB picks for this contest tonight in Houston!
- MLB YTD
- 36-25-1 (58.1%)
- +10.52u
Check out the best odds on the market at our top online sportsbooks.
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Houston Astros MLB Betting Insights
Oneil Cruz and the Pirates look to win their only series against the Astros tonight in Houston
We've seen plenty of offense from both ball clubs in this series, will it continue tonight? Jared Jones is on the mound for the Pirates, making just his second start of the season. He got lit up in his opener, allowing five earned runs on seven total hits and two walks, including two home runs in just 4.1 innings against the Minnesota Twins at home. I can't imagine things will be any easier on the road tonight.
For the Astros, Kai-Wei Teng makes the start after allowing just six total earned runs during the month of May. He's typically a reliever, but has made four consecutive starts for the Astros. Can he last as long as they need him to tonight? Or will it turn into a standard bullpen game for the hosts?
Matchup Information – Pirates vs. Astros – June 4
- Venue & Location: Daikin Park (Houston, TX)
- Date: Thursday, June 4, 2026
- First Pitch: 8:10 p.m. Eastern
- Broadcast: MLB.tv
Pirates vs. Astros Pitching Matchup
- Pittsburgh Pirates: RHP Jared Jones (0-0, 10.38 ERA, 2.08 WHIP)
- Houston Astros: RHO Kai-Wei Teng (3-3, 2.57 ERA, 1.10 WHIP_
Pirates vs. Astros Betting Odds
Odds are courtesy of our friends at Lucky Rebel Sportsbook, as of June 4, 2026, at 2:05 p.m. eastern. Sign up today and get a $1,250 deposit bonus as well as 50 slot spins immediately in your account and start betting at the sportsbook with the most competitive odds in the industry, and a wide variety of unique markets not offered anywhere else.
Run Line
- Pirates +1.5 (-215)
- Astros -1.5 (+176)
Moneyline
- Pirates -103
- Astros -117
Total
- Over 8.5 (-108)
- Under 8.5 (-112)
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Houston Astros MLB Picks
Yordan Alvarez is hitting .316 this season with 21 home runs, ranking top five in the MLB in both categories
Pirates vs. Astros Prediction: Astros Win and Cover, Over 8.5
Best Bet: Astros ML (-117) Lucky Rebel Sportsbook
Neither team is overly impressive at the plate this season, despite us having at least 16 total runs in each of the two games of this series. I can't get over the Pirates bad splits.
Pittsburgh watches their .256 batting average drop all the way to .234 when playing on the road. Sure, they improve a bit against right handed pitchers, but I worry about Jared Jones. He did not look comfortable at all against the Twins, and now he faces an Astros team who has one of the hottest hitters in baseball, Yordan Alvarez. I'd like to think he will excel tonight against a pitcher who is still trying to find his groove.
Other than that, there aren't many advanced analytics to back up this play. The Pirates have been red hot, the Astros have been up and down, but ultimately I think this will come down to the pitching, where I am simply not confident enough in Jones' stuff to lead them to victory tonight.
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Nate has been a recreational sports bettor for about 5 years. In that time, he has grown to love the pursuit of winners and sticking it to The Man. Nate loves data and uses his understanding of numbers to help him be a more profitable sports gambler, however he will be the first to tell you this game is about more than just stats.
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