With the MLB regular season officially coming to a close next Sunday, this will be the last Sunday Night Baseball betting preview. In the American League, the Cleveland Indians and Houston Astros have locked up their respective divisions, while the Boston Red Sox, having clinched a playoff berth, are on the verge of winning the division title as well. In the National League, the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers have locked up their respective divisions, while the Chicago Cubs are on the cusp of clinching both a playoff berth and the division title. In the AL Wild Card standings, the Minnesota Twins are leading comfortably (let’s not jinx this) for the second spot. In the NL Wild Card standings, the Colorado Rockies are holding on to the second spot, with the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals both trailing by 1.5 games – should make for an interesting finish! With just one week left in the regular season, let’s take a look at our final Sunday Night Baseball betting preview.
Details
Date – Sunday September 24th, 2017
Time – 8:00PM EST
Line – Astros -155
Why The Angels Might Win
The Los Angeles Angels had a decent shot at taking the second Wild Card spot a week ago but currently in a six-game losing streak, their hopes have been practically dashed. Currently, the Angels are 4.0 games back of the Twins for the final Wild Card spot, and would also have to leapfrog the Texas Rangers. From now on, every game counts, and the Angels are sending Tyler Skaggs to the mound. Skaggs has had a rough year, with a 2-6 record and a 4.30 ERA, 4.28 FIP, and 1.37 ERA while allowing 10 HR in only 75.1 IP and a lousy 25 BB to only 66 K. However, Skaggs has been relatively better against the Astros in his two starts against them – 12.0 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 HR, 3 BB, and 8 K. Additionally, Skaggs has also fared much better in his previous three starts, recording quality starts in two of the three while allowing three runs at most. The Angels are desperate at this point in the season – they basically need to win all of their remaining games in order to even have a chance of making the postseason. Sometimes, desperation bring out the best in players, and the Angels will have to hope that this applies for Skaggs and the rest of the team.
Why The Astros Might Win
If the Astros would like to maintain home field advantage throughout the postseason, they’ll need to finish the season strong. The Astros are currently the third-best team in the league, trailing the Dodgers and Indians by 3.0 and 1.0 games respectively. While the Astros likely won’t catch the Dodgers, they’ll have a good chance to overtake the Indians for the top spot in the AL. The Astros are going with Lance McCullers, who is 7-3 with a 3.97 ERA, 3.07 FIP, 1.27 WHIP, and 9.9 K/9 on the season. In two starts against the Angels this year, McCullers has been fantastic – 13.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, and 12 K. McCullers, coming back from injury, has only made one start since July 30th, with his most recent start coming on September 6th. McCullers might still have some rust on him but should be able to handle Skaggs and the Angels.
Outlook
The Angels and Astros are two teams trending in opposite directions. One team is desperately trying to cling on to their playoff hopes while another team has the opportunity to secure home field advantage throughout the postseason. The Astros have the better pitcher on the mound, the better team, and much better recent performance. As a result, the Astros should win this game and wipe the Angels’ hopes of making the postseason.
Taking a look at the betting line, the Astros opened at -145 but the line has climbed up 10 cents since open. The total has opened at 9 and has held steadily. We still like this price (on the moneyline) as it’s not too expensive, so lay the juice with them for this week’s edition of Sunday Night Baseball.
Pick: Astros -155
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