Baltimore Orioles vs Houston Astros Prediction, 9/18/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Baltimore Orioles vs Houston Astros

Date: Monday, September 18, 2023

Location: Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX

TV: AT&T SportsNet Southwest

Odds/Point Spread: Baltimore (+114) Houston (-135)

Minute Maid Park is the location where the Houston Astros (83-66) will try to defeat the Baltimore Orioles (92-56) on Monday. The moneyline on this matchup has Baltimore at +114 and Houston is sitting at -135. The over/under has been set at 8.5. The pitchers taking the mound will be John Means and Justin Verlander.

As a unit, the Baltimore Orioles are scoring 5.1 runs/g, which puts them at 6th in MLB. They are sitting with 753 runs scored while holding a team OBP of .323. The Orioles have compiled 281 two-baggers as a unit and have knocked 174 baseballs out of the stadium. They have 729 RBI's and 1,293 hits on the campaign, while their team batting average sits at .257. Baltimore owns a slugging percentage of .427 and have been called out on strikes 1,232 times, while being walked on 469 occasions.

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Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 3.04 and their pitching staff has a team WHIP of 1.26. Orioles pitchers have allowed 167 home runs and 632 total runs (9th in baseball). Baltimore has yielded 1,242 base hits (8.4 per 9 innings) in addition to 594 earned runs. The Orioles have compiled a team ERA of 4.03 on the year (13th in the league), and the staff has rung up 1,318 batters. Their pitching staff has walked 433 batters and their FIP is 4.02 as a unit on the year.

The Orioles relief pitchers have earned a save rate of 61.1% and stepped onto the hill in 174 save situations. The relief pitchers have inherited 256 runners so far this season with 35.2% of those runners ended up crossing the plate. Orioles bullpen pitchers have gone to the mound with opponents on base 176 times as well as having 181 appearances in high leverage situations. The Orioles have sent 504 relievers to the hill so far this year. The bullpen have 99 holds on the season (1st in baseball). They have compiled 44 saves this year and have not converted 28 of 72 save opportunities.

The Baltimore Orioles have accounted for 3,984 putouts at this point in the season, as well as 1,311 assists and 60 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding steady at .989 which ranks 4th in professional baseball, and have accumulated 130 double plays. The Orioles have turned 69.2% of balls in play into outs in their 11,952 innings, which ranks them 16th in professional baseball.

Means (20-25 mark in his career) has a FIP of 4.64 while he has gone up against 1,473 opposing hitters in the major leagues. He has conceded 318 hits (7.9 hits per nine innings) with 73 free passes. His earned run average is 3.83 (154 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.081. Means has pitched in 361 innings and has totaled 309 punch outs during his MLB career.

The Houston Astros have an OBP of .332 and a batting average of .260 for the year. They have struck out on 1,140 instances (28th in the league) and have earned a total of 1,330 hits. Houston has accumulated 204 HRs so far this year as well as 742 RBIs. The Astros have a team slugging percentage of .435 and they are scoring 5.15 runs per contest (5th in the league). They have notched 254 two-baggers, while getting a free base 508 times and scoring 768 runs.

The Astros are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.289 and are the owners of a FIP of 4.38 as a team on the season. They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 9.00 (1,333 strikeouts against 492 walks). They come in at 15th in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits conceded with 1,221. They have conceded 190 dingers and they concede 4.41 runs per 9 innings (11th in baseball). The Houston pitching staff have given up 651 runs on the campaign while having an ERA of 3.99 (589 earned runs allowed).

Houston relief pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 30.8% out of their 146 inherited runners. Their relief pitchers have stepped onto the hill 140 times in high leverage situations and also on 89 occasions with base runners. Sitting with 136 save situations, the Astros have compiled 78 holds in addition to 17 blown saves. They sit at 4th in the league with a save percentage of 70.2%, and they have sent 471 bullpen pitchers to the mound so far this season. Houston has called on relievers to enter the game in 57 save opportunities and they have tallied 40 saves.

In their 11,964 innings played, the Astros hold a defensive efficiency of 69.6% (11th in pro baseball). The Houston Astros have turned 134 double plays and have notched a fielding percentage of .986 (13th in the majors). The Astros have 1,240 assists, 73 errors and have 3,988 putouts on the campaign.

Verlander (255-141 win-loss record in his career) has a 3.25 earned run average and has conceded 7.6 hits per nine innings. His strikeout to walk ratio is 3.61 and he has faced 13,475 hitters in his career. He has given up 1,193 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.119 and a FIP of 3.4. So far in his pro baseball career, Verlander has given up 2,780 base hits while he has tallied 3,324 strikeouts in 3,306 frames.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Houston (-135)

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