Odds and Bets: Astros and Marlins Engage in a Key Baseball Battle

Houston Astros vs Miami Marlins

The Houston Astros (68-51) and Miami Marlins (62-57) start the week off with a three-game set in Florida that begins on Monday evening. Both clubs won their weekend series, albeit in vastly different fashions. The Astros already headed into Sunday with two wins under their belt against the Angels, so the 2-1 defeat stung a bit less perhaps. As for the Marlins, their five-run comeback in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Yankees may just be the lifeline they needed to make a push for a postseason berth.

Framber Valdez (9-7, 3.3 ERA) takes to the mound for Houston and Braxton Garrett does so for the home team Marlins. It’s bewildering to see that Valdez is only 9-7 despite posting one of MLB’s finer ERAs and WHIPs. He’s had worse WHIPs in years past with superior win-loss records. A strange season for him. Does he get the run support he needs tonight? Right fielder Kyle Tucker, fourth in the majors in RBIs, will be of huge importance.

Best Bet: Houston Astros on the moneyline

 Spain vs Sweden

The Women’s World Cup has reached the final four. The first of two semi-final matchups is between Spain and Sweden on Tuesday morning (ET). The Scandinavian nation is the top-ranked team remaining in the tournament at third, although Spain isn’t far behind at sixth. In the quarterfinals, Sweden took out Japan 2-1 and Spain downed the Netherlands in a memorable 2-1 extra-time win.

Judging by how both teams have played so far through the tournament, it’s tempting to side with Spain. Their game has a flow to it that’s hard to resist. It’s not hard to figure out how they can play so well when realizing that many of their top players like Jennifer Hermoso and Aitana Bonmati play for FC Barcelona. As for Sweden, Amanda Ilestedt is in the unique position of possibly winning the tournament’s golden boot as a defender. Always in the right place at the right time, she’s netted four goals already. A lot of people are anticipating the other semifinals contest given that it features one of the co-host nations, but this one is as mouth-watering as it gets.

Best Bet: Spain in extra time

Los Angeles Angels vs Texas Rangers

At this stage, it seems clear that the Angels’ (59-60) decision to not trade Shohei Ohtani and to go “all in” for a playoff push has completely backfired. During the last couple of weeks, the club has looked as bad as it has all season. Los Angeles plays the Texas Rangers (70-48) on Monday, the latter who continues to sheriff the AL West with a slim lead they refuse to relinquish.

Patrick Sandoval (6-8, 3.86 ERA) will pitch for the Angels while the Rangers go with their new weapon Max Scherzer (11-4, 3.88 ERA). We won’t dabble in a discussion as to whether the Angels will win or not. They might, but given the discrepancy between the sides, most people believe the Rangers should take this series. Rather, we’ll ride the Ohtani train. His numbers at bat are incredible. Hitting against Scherzer is no easy feat however, but if anyone can muster a run or two, it would be the Japanese phenom.

Best Bet: Shohei Ohtani over 0.5 runs