The Astros are creeping up on first place in their division while the Red Sox are trying to stay alive in the AL wild-card race, heading into the second game of a four-game series in Houston Tuesday night. Justin Verlander makes his fourth start for the Astros since coming back in that trade with Mets while Tanner Houck is returning for Boston after missing two months dealing with a head injury. Which way are we going with our free baseball betting pick?

MLB Betting Odds

Tuesday’s baseball betting market opened Houston and Verlander at around -150 over Boston and Houck, with an over/under of 8.5 runs. Early betting action then bumped the Astros to -155.

Red Sox-Astros Betting Preview

Houston took the opener of this series Monday night 9-4. The Astros spotted Boston three runs in the top of the first inning, then scored one of their own in the bottom of the first, three in the second and three more in the fourth, on their way to victory. Houston won Monday as a -120 favorite on the dime line and covered against the run line at the tasty price of +155. Also, Monday’s game played over a total of nine in the fourth inning. Wednesday’s win snapped a three-game losing skid for the Astros, who were swept three games at home by Seattle over the weekend. But at 71-55 overall Houston has crept to within a game and a half of first-place Texas in the AL West. Meanwhile, even with Monday’s loss the Red Sox are 8-3 over their last 11 games. At 66-59 overall Boston only trails Seattle by four games in the fight for the third and final American League wild-card spot. This series is the first meeting between these teams this season. Last year the Sox took four of six games from the ‘Stros.

Tuesday's Pitching Match-Up

Verlander is 2/3 on quality starts since coming back to Houston earlier this month. Last Wednesday against Miami, pitching with a big early lead, he gave up five runs - four earned - and nine hits through five innings of a 12-5 Astros victory. And over his two starts previous to that he allowed five runs and 13 hits through 13 innings. The Mets, who are eight games under .500 on the season, played 8-8 with Verlander before the trade, and Houston is 2-1 with him since. This will be Verlander’s first start against Boston since 2019, which is a long time ago. Houck is coming back Tuesday after missing two months dealing with the after- affects of getting hit in the head by a line drive back on June 16. He was struggling before that, though, going just 3/13 on quality starts with a 5.05 ERA. The Red Sox are 6-7 with Houck this year. Over his last two appearances against the Astros, both last year in relief, Houck tossed 2 2/3 innings of hit-less, scoreless ball.

Splits With the Sticks

Boston is batting .264 against right-handed pitching this season, with a .325 team OBP and a .441 team slugging percentage. Numbers like those lead us to rank this line-up among the top half-dozen in Baseball in this split. Houston is slashing .244/.319/.403 against RH pitching. But this line-up is also about as healthy as it’s been all season, considering a couple of key guys - Altuve and Alvarez - are back after missing time with injuries.

The Bullpens

The Astros bullpen owns a 3.58 ERA this season, along with a 1.27 WHIP and a 2,74 K/BB ratio. The Red Sox pen owns a 4.10 ERA, a 1.35 WHIP and a 2.68 K/BB ratio.

MLB Betting Trends

Boston is 31-31 on the road this season and 45-45 against right-handed starters. Houston is 34-29 at home and 47-41 against RH starters.

Totals Report

• The overs are 63-60 in Red Sox games this season.
• The overs are 64-60 in Astros games.
• The overs are 34-28 at Minute Maid Park this season.