Cleveland Guardians vs Houston Astros Prediction, 5/1/2024 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Cleveland Guardians vs Houston Astros

Date: Wednesday, May 1, 2024

Location: Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX

TV: Space City Home Network

Odds/Point Spread: Cleveland (+124) Houston (-148)

Minute Maid Park is the site where the Houston Astros (9-19) will play the Cleveland Guardians (19-9) on Wednesday. The moneyline on this game has the Guardians at +124 and the Astros are sitting at -148. The total comes in at 9. The starting pitchers will be Triston McKenzie and Justin Verlander.

The Guardians have tallied 50 doubles as a squad and have hit 26 baseballs out of the stadium. Cleveland has a slugging rate of .392 and have struck out 207 times, while drawing a walk on 80 occasions. As a unit, the Cleveland Guardians are putting up 5.1 runs per contest, which is 5th in the league. They have accounted for 128 runs batted in as well as 238 base knocks over the course of the season, and their average at the plate is sitting at .250. They have 143 runs scored while holding a team on-base percentage of .321.

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Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 2.88 and the pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.22. Guardians pitchers have given up 23 home runs and also 97 runs in total (3rd in the league). Cleveland has given up 214 base hits (7.6 per 9 innings) as well as 91 earned runs. The Guardians have a team earned run average of 3.22 for the season (5th in MLB), and the staff has rung up 274 hitters. Their pitching staff has walked 95 opposing batters and their FIP is 3.47 as a team so far this year.

Guardians relief pitchers have stepped onto the hill with runners on base 30 times in addition to having 46 appearances in high leverage situations. The relief pitchers have a total of 25 holds so far this season (1st in the league). The Guardians relief pitchers have a save percentage of 66.7% and has entered the game in 41 save situations. They have tallied 10 saves on the year and have missed out on 5 of their 15 chances to save the game. The relief pitchers have inherited 35 runners for the year with 22.9% of those players crossed the plate. The Guardians have dispatched 112 relief pitchers to the hill over the course of the season.

The Guardians have turned 69.3% of baseballs in play into outs out of 2,289 innings on the field, which has them ranked 19th in baseball. The Cleveland Guardians have a tally of 763 putouts at this point in the season, in addition to 242 assists and 14 errors. Their fielding percentage is currently at .986 which puts them in 9th in professional baseball, and they have turned 21 double plays.

McKenzie has thrown 1,561 innings and has accounted for 1,593 strikeouts in his pro baseball career. His ERA is 4.05 (703 ER's allowed) and his WHIP is 1.253. He has surrendered 1,525 base hits (8.8 hits per nine innings) and has had 431 free passes. McKenzie (108-95 win-loss record in his career) holds a FIP of 3.65 and he has gone up against 6,520 opposing batters in the major leagues.

Houston has knocked in 32 home runs so far this season as well as 117 RBIs. They have 49 doubles, while taking a walk 89 times as well as notching 122 runs. The Houston Astros have an on-base percentage of .329 and a batting average of .264 on the campaign. The Astros hold a slugging % of .415 and they score 4.36 runs per contest (17th in MLB). They have struck out on 178 instances (30th in baseball) and have earned a total of 258 base hits.

The Astros hold a team WHIP of 1.473 and have a FIP of 4.20 as a unit for the year. Their K/BB ratio sits at 8.60 (234 strikeouts vs 116 bases on balls). They are currently ranked 20th in MLB as a pitching staff in total hits conceded with 245. They have yielded 26 homers and they concede 5.29 runs per 9 innings (26th in the league). The Houston pitching staff have yielded 144 runs so far this season while holding an ERA of 4.92 (134 earned runs yielded).

Houston relief pitchers have an inherited score rate of 23.7% out of their 38 inherited runners. Their relievers have stepped onto the mound 26 times in high leverage situations and on 22 occasions with runners on. Sitting with 21 save situations, the Astros have recorded 13 holds in addition to 6 blown saves. They are currently ranked 30th in baseball holding a save rate of 25.0%, and they have dispatched 98 bullpen pitchers to the hill on the year. Houston has had relief pitchers enter the game in 8 save opportunities and they have come away with 2 saves.

In 2,205 innings on the diamond, the Astros have a efficiency on defense of 67.2% (27th in baseball). The Houston Astros have turned 24 double plays and have notched a fielding percentage of .985 (12th in baseball). The Astros have 235 assists, 15 errors and have 735 putouts over the course of the season.

In his pro baseball career, Verlander has given up 204 base knocks while he has totaled 217 punch outs in 193 innings. He has conceded 109 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.435 and a FIP of 4.2. His strikeout to walk ratio is 2.93 and he has gone up against 838 opposing batters in his pro baseball career. Verlander (13-17 career mark) is the owner of a 5.07 ERA while allowing 9.5 hits per 9 innings.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Houston (-148)

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