Yankees vs. Astros (June 30): Can Garcia grab his third straight win to end June?

Luis Garcia will go for his third win in a row to close out June as the Houston Astros welcome the New York Yankees to Minute Maid Park this evening.

Last week, the two teams split a four-game series at Yankee Stadium, with two Houston wins (including a Saturday no-hitter) sandwiched between two walk-off wins for the Bronx Bombers.

It was a series that the Astros could and should have swept, as Houston's bullpen, which is one of the best in baseball, threw away the lead in both of the Yankees' wins.

This single game will kickstart a long homestand for the AL West leaders and a long road trip for the AL East leaders. Which contender will start their stretch with a win?

New York Yankees vs. Houston Astros Betting Odds and Matchup Information

Matchup Information

• Matchup: New York Yankees (56-20, 22-11 away, 1st in the AL East) vs. Houston Astros (47-27, 20-11 home, 1st in the AL West)
• Venue & Location: Minute Maid Park (Houston, Texas)
• Date: Thursday, June 30, 2022
• Time: 6:10 p.m. Eastern Time (5:10 p.m. local time)
• TV Broadcast/Streaming Info: MLB Network

Yankees vs. Astros Pitching Matchup

• New York Yankees: Luis Severino (2022: 13 starts, 4-2, 3.38 ERA, 72 IP, 56 H, 28 R (27 ER), 87 K/21 BB, 1.07 WHIP, .211 OBA)
• Houston Astros: Luis Garcia (2022: 13 starts, 5-5, 3.68 ERA, 71 IP, 57 H, 34 R (29 ER), 74 K/19 BB, 1.07 WHIP, .214 OBA)

Yankees vs. Astros Odds

Game odds are via BetOnline. Odds from our other top reviewed and recommended sportsbooks may also be included in this article.

Moneyline

• New York Yankees -124
• Houston Astros +106

Over/Under

• OVER 8 (-110)
• UNDER 8 (-110)

Run Line

• New York Yankees -1.5 (+146)
• Houston Astros +1.5 (-176)

Another Day, Another Gem for Houston's Rotation?

In yesterday's Astros vs. Mets preview, I touched on how good Houston's starting pitching has been recently.

That continued with yesterday's 2-0 win at Citi Field, as Justin Verlander pitched eight shutout innings and got his league-leading 10th win thanks to Jason Castro's tiebreaking two-run homer in the top of the ninth.

In their last 15 games, the Astros have had a starting pitcher give up more than three runs only twice. As it happens, Verlander accounts for both times. And both times were at home, where the Astros have the third-best home win percentage behind only the Yankees (34-9, .791) and Mets (24-12, .667).

Garcia has started two of those 15 games, and he picked up the win in both. He allowed two runs and five hits and struck out nine in a road win over the rival Texas Rangers on June 15, then allowed three runs, six hits, and a walk and struck out five in five innings in a win over the Mets eight days ago.

Garcia has been pretty up and down this season, but back-to-back wins, and he comes into this game with a 5.18 ERA in six home starts. Only once so far has he allowed three or fewer runs in three consecutive starts, a feat that he will be looking to achieve tonight.

But all it can take to get on a run is to get a couple of wins in a row. Pitching well across his last two outings should have him in a confident place ahead of this start.

New York Yankees vs. Houston Astros Prediction and Best Bets

Yankees vs. Astros Prediction: Astros to win

Yankees vs. Astros Best Bets: Astros ML (+106 at BetOnline)

While things are starting to trend up for Garcia, results are trending down with Severino, as the Yankees are 2-4 in his last six starts. That isn't all his fault, by any means, given that four of the six starts have been quality starts.

But the two that weren't account for his two most recent road starts. And though he gave up just five hits in those two starts, four of the five were homers. June has been Houston's most prolific power month, so that might be a cause for concern here.

Ultimately, this one is a toss-up. Despite the disparity in their records, there isn't much of a gap between these two teams, as last week's series in New York showed.

And the Astros being available as a home underdog in a mound matchup that is favorable at the moment? I love the value here, and you should as well.

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