Twins vs. Astros Game 1 SGP: Bet on Houston, Kyle Tucker at +310
The Minnesota Twins and Houston Astros begin their division series today.
The pregame narrative: Minnesota swept the Toronto Blue Jays in the wild-card round and now heads to Houston to take on a playoff juggernaut. We're expecting the Astros to ride its pitching advantage and best bats to a win.
MLB oddsas of 10:05 a.m. on 10/07/2023.
Twins vs. Astros SGP picks
Parlay: Astros moneyline + Tucker over 1.5 bases + Altuve over 0.5 hits (+310)
Astros moneyline (-157): Houston is three wins away from advancing to a seventh-consecutive ALCS and it's in pretty good shape to get a third of the way there today. Justin Verlander is on the bump for the Astros and he's been solid lately.
The future Hall of Famer has a respectable 3.31 ERA in 11 starts with Houston this season, and the team has won seven of those games. He's been especially hot lately, allowing just four earned runs across his last three starts (19.0 IP).
Minnesota counters with Bailey Ober, a third-year righty with a 3.43 ERA. Ober's consistent and has decent strikeout numbers but we're not looking to back a pitcher making his first playoff start on the road.
Other parlay picks
Tucker over 1.5 bases (+108): Tucker is coming into this series hot. Houston's outfielder has a hit in eight of his last nine games, clearing this line six times. He's been an extra-base machine all year, with 71 knocks of that variety in the regular season.
Tucker doesn't have an extensive matchup history with Ober — he's 1-for-5 against the righty — and the Twins' starter is throwing well, but we'll still take his bat all day.
Tucker's 297 total bases were the 14th most in MLB this year.
Altuve over 0.5 hits (-235): Altuve hit .311 this season, which would have been the third-best mark in the AL had he qualified with enough at-bats.
The second basemen has a hit in six of his last seven games, with 10 total knocks in that span.
Altuve has also consistently produced in the postseason with a .271 average in 92 games. He's got a hit in seven of his last eight playoff games.
