Astros vs. Mets (June 29): Verlander seeks league-leading 10th win

This afternoon, the Houston Astros will look to beat the New York Mets for the fourth time in four games in an eight-day span, as the two teams wrap up their midweek matchup at Citi Field.

After taking both games last week in Houston, the AL West leaders picked up a resounding 9-1 win over the NL East leaders last night in Flushing.

In today’s matchup, Justin Verlander will look to become the first pitcher this season to hit the 10-win mark, as he will take the field hours before fellow nine-game winner Alek Manoah does for the Toronto Blue Jays against the Boston Red Sox.

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

Matchup Information

• Matchup: Houston Astros (46-27, 26-16 away, 1st in the AL West) vs. New York Mets (47-28, 24-11 home, 1st in the NL East)
• Venue & Location: Citi Field (New York, New York)
• Date: Wednesday, June 29, 2022
• Game Time: 1:10 p.m. Eastern Time
• TV Broadcast/Streaming Info: MLB Network

Astros vs. Mets Pitching Matchup

• Houston Astros: Justin Verlander (2022: 14 starts, 9-3, 2.22 ERA, 89.1 IP, 62 H, 29 R (22 ER), 84 K/16 BB, 0.87 WHIP, .192 OBA)
• New York Mets: Taijuan Walker (2022: 12 starts, 6-2, 3.03 ERA, 65.1 IP, 60 H, 23 R (22 ER), 49 K/19 BB, 1.21 WHIP, .243 OBA)

Astros vs. Mets Odds

Game odds are via BetOnline. This article may also feature odds from one or more of our other top reviewed and recommended sportsbooks.

Moneyline

• Houston Astros -130
• New York Mets +110

Over/Under

• OVER 7.5 (-118)
• UNDER 7.5 (-104)

Run Line

• Houston Astros -1.5 (+128)
• New York Mets +1.5 (-154)

Will the Mets Finally Be Able to Solve Houston’s Pitchers?

If not for two late-inning capitulations against the Yankees, the Astros would be on a pretty incredible run against the two New York teams.

As it is, Dusty Baker is getting a lot of out of his starting pitchers right now. That includes Verlander, who was outstanding against the Yankees in a win this past Friday.

The Mets have gotten to see what the Astros’ rotation and bullpen have to offer three times now, and they have yet to get to them like the Yankees were able to in the two walk-off wins that bookended their four-game series against the Astros.

In yesterday’s 9-1 win, Framber Valdez pitched eight shutout innings, allowing six hits and two walks and striking out five as he picked up his eighth win of the season.

Today, it will be Verlander’s turn, as he makes his 53rd career Interleague start. In his career, he is 36-8 with a 2.71 ERA in Interleague action, so he has some high standards to uphold.

On the road, Verlander has an ERA of 2.04 and an OBA of .161, compared to an ERA of 2.48 and an OBA of .231 at home, so things do not look promising for the Mets to shake their problems with production against Houston.

In the first three meetings, the Mets have had eight hits in each game, but they have scored only six total runs. With runners in scoring position, they have just two hits in 19 at-bats. In last night’s loss, they were 1 for 9 with RISP.

Against a pitcher who is unlikely to offer them too many opportunities, they can ill-afford to continue to be so wasteful.

Houston Astros vs. New York Mets Prediction and Best Bets

Astros vs. Mets Prediction: Astros to win

Astros vs. Mets Best Bets: Astros ML (-130 at BetOnline) & Astros -1.5 (+135 at BetMGM)

Unless the odds drastically change, the Mets will close as an underdog at home for just the fifth time this season. In those infrequent instances, they have gone just 1-3. The Astros, meanwhile, are 20-11 as a favorite on the road.

Walker has great numbers at home (2-0, 2.49 ERA in four starts) and in day games (4-0, 1.42 ERA), but with how dominant the Astros have been against the Mets thus far and with Verlander on the mound, it’s hard to bet against Houston here.

Houston has 13 one-run wins this season (in 19 one-run games), which is tied for seventh in MLB. But only four of their 23 games this month have been decided by one run (three wins and one loss, which came against the Yankees last week).

So, if you want to hop on some additional value, the run line is definitely worth a look here, especially with how little the Mets have done at the plate against the Astros.