Orioles vs. Astros (August 27): Can Urquidy Cool Off the Orioles at Home?

The Baltimore Orioles visit the Houston Astros for Game 2 of the series on Saturday night. Game 1 was highlighted by fantastic pitching on both sides. Rookie Kyle Bradish, tossed 8 innings of 2-hit baseball for his 2nd win of the season.

Both teams have won 6 of 10 games, which has been important to stay within the playoff hunt. Houston is in the driver’s seat for the AL West title, but the Orioles need to keep winning to stay in the Wild Card hunt.

The Orioles will have a tough test tonight, as they face José Urquidy. He has won 3 of his last 5 starts, and he has not been hit with a loss since July 15th. On Bovada Sportsbook, the Astros are slight favorites at home.

Baltimore Orioles vs. Houston Astros Matchup Information and Betting Odds

Matchup Information

• Matchup: Baltimore Orioles (66-59, 29-35 away, 4th in the AL East) vs. Houston Astros (81-46, 42-19 home, 1st in the AL West)
• Venue & Location: Minute Maid Park (Houston, Texas)
• Date: Saturday, August 27, 2022
• Game Time: 7:10 p.m. Eastern Time (6:10 p.m. local time)

Orioles vs. Astros Pitching Matchup

• Baltimore Orioles: Dean Kremer (2022: 14 starts, 5-4, 3.45 ERA)
• Houston Astros: Jose Urquidy (2022: 23 starts, 12-4, 3.63 ERA)

Orioles vs. Astros Odds

Game odds are via BetOnline. Odds from other top legal online sports betting sites may also be mentioned in this article.

Moneyline

• Baltimore Orioles +150
• Houston Astros -178

Over/Under

• Over 8 (-118)
• Under 8 (-104)

Run Line

• Baltimore Orioles +1.5 (-134)
• Houston Astros -1.5 (+112)

Houston’s Home Dominance

The Astros are playing their best baseball at home. They are 42-19 at Minute Maid Park, as opposed to 39-27 away from their own friendly confines. Even though they have almost 300 less at-bats at home, they have almost the same amount of hits.

Houston Astros Home/Away Batting Splits

• Home: 61 games, .255 average, 500 hits, 84 home runs
• Away: 66 games, .239 average, 544 hits, 86 home runs

It’s not to say that they play bad on the road by any stretch, but they are 4-6 on the road in their last 10 games away from Minute Maid Park. In comparison, they are 8-2 in their last 10 home games.

José Urquidy has pitched lights out for the Astros, winning 3 of his last 5 starts. 2 of those games were at home, where he only surrendered 5 runs and 7 hits over back-to-back starts.

Urquidy, has also pitched a bit better at home this season. The record may not look like it, but his stuff has worked the most when he is at Minute Maid Park.

José Urquidy Home/Away Splits

• Home: 5-2 record, 2.87 ERA, 58 Ks
• Away: 7-2 record, 4.24 ERA, 46 Ks

The Astros dropped Game 1 at home and couldn’t even push 1 run across. With the Orioles sending Dean Kremer to the mound tonight, they have an opportunity to get back on track. Kremer has lost 2 of his last 3 starts on the road, and he has a higher ERA and OBA away from his home field.

Dean Kremer Home/Away Splits

• Home: 2-2 record, 3.16 ERA, .254 OBA
• Away: 3-2 record, 3.72 ERA, .301 OBA

Baltimore Orioles vs. Houston Astros Prediction and Picks

Baltimore Orioles vs. Astros Prediction: Astros to win

Baltimore Orioles vs. Astros Picks: Astros ML (-178 at BetOnline and Bovada Sportsbook)

With the home dominance of the Astros and their starter on Saturday, they are the bet. If you take away last night’s rare home loss, they have won 8 of 9 at Minute Maid Park.

Urquidy is pitching the best he has all season, and the team will want to rebound from an embarrassing performance on Friday night.

The Astros still have value on the moneyline, but you might consider taking the run line in this one. If they can win by 2 or more, it gives you extra on your payout for less of a deposit.

Check our MLB Picks!