The Houston Astros opened the season with a four-game series at the Angels, and it went pretty much like it usually does when these AL West rivals hook up: Houston landed one uppercut after another, strutted away with three victories, and left the Halos bloodied and bruised.
Since then, though, these teams have headed in completely opposite directions — so much so that Los Angeles has a half-game lead over the Astros heading into Monday’s opener of a three-game series in Houston. Alas, bookmakers aren’t buying it, as Houston is a solid favorite on the Monday MLB odds board.
Of course, a big reason why is the Angels won’t have the services of Mike Trout. Can Shohei Ohtani and Co. fill that huge lineup void, pick up a rare win in Houston and hold onto first place? Or will the Astros follow a mediocre season-opening nine-game road trip with a ‘W’ in their 2022 home opener?
Props.com dives into the top American League game among the Monday MLB odds slate.
Odds via PointsBet USA and updated as of 5:45 p.m. ET on April 18.
Los Angeles Angels (6-4) vs Houston Astros (5-4)
First Pitch/TV: 8:10 p.m. ET/MLB.TV
Moneyline: Astros -145/Angels +120
Run Line: Astros -1.5 (+135)/Angels +1.5 (-160)
Total: 9 (Under -115)
Pitching matchup: RHP Michael Lorenzen (1-0, 1.50 ERA, 0.33 WHIP) vs. RHP Luis Garcia (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP)
Season series: Houston opened the 2022 season by taking three of four at the Angels. The three victories were by a combined score of 20-8
Did you know: Including the four meetings this season, Houston is 72-37 against the Angels since the start of the 2016 season.
About the Angels
Hits & Misses: Since its disappointing season-opening series against Houston, Los Angeles has won five of six. The Angels opened a four-game weekend series at Texas with Thursday’s 10-5 loss to the Rangers but rallied to win the next three by the combined tally of 24-11. Los Angeles has scored the fourth-most runs in MLB at 49 (tied with Cleveland). However, that offense was dealt a big blow in Sunday’s 8-3 victory at Texas, as superstar CF Mike Trout was hit on the left hand with a pitch and forced to leave the game. X-rays were negative and Trout is listed as day-to-day, but has been ruled out for Monday’s game.
On the Mound: Lorenzen dazzled in his Angels debut last Monday, yielding just one run on two hits while walking none and striking out seven in six innings en route to a 6-2 home win. Including his final three appearances of 2021 with the Reds, Lorenzen has allowed just four runs, 14 hits and four walks with 23 strikeouts in his last four starts spanning 21.1 innings (1.69 ERA). Monday represents his first career start against the Astros.
Injuries: In addition to Trout, the Angels are without SS David Fletcher, who has landed on the 10-day injured list with a hip strain.
About the Astros
Hits & Misses: Houston has gone the opposite direction as the Angels, following up a 4-1 start with a 1-3 slump. The Astros dropped two of three over the weekend at Seattle, sandwiching Saturday’s 4-0 win between losses of 11-1 and 7-2 on Friday and Sunday, respectively. Since exploding for 13 runs in the second game of the season at the Angels, Houston’s offense has produced 15 runs in seven games. The Astros are being propped up by a pitching staff that has MLB’s seventh-best team ERA (3.22).
On the Mound: Garcia made his 2022 debut Tuesday in Arizona and yielded two hits and two walks with one strikeout in four shutout innings. He got a no-decision, but Houston eked out a 2-1 victory. Including the 2021 playoffs, the Astros lost five of Garcia’s previous six starts. Garcia went 6-5 with a sterling 2.73 ERA in 15 regular-season appearances (13 starts) at home last season. The 25-year-old Venezuelan was 1-2 with a 4.10 ERA in six games (five starts) against the Angels in 2021. The six home runs Garcia surrendered to the Angels last season were twice as many as he allowed to any other team.
Injuries: DH Yordan Alvarez has missed the last five games while on the COVID-19 list but is expected to be activated prior to Monday’s game. RP Ryan Pressly (knee) was placed on the 10-day IL over the weekend and is out indefinitely.
Notable Trends
- Los Angeles is 9-19 in its last 28 vs. AL West rivals
- Los Angeles is 2-8 in its last 10 series openers (1-2 this season)
- Houston is 9-3 in its last 12 when coming off a loss
- Houston is 96-40 in its last 136 series openers
- Over for Los Angeles is on runs of 3-0-1 overall and 5-0-1 on the road
- Under is 11-4-1 in Houston’s last 16 overall
- Houston is 44-21 in its last 65 home games vs. Los Angeles
- Under is 4-1 in the last five Angels-Astros clashes overall
- Over is 13-5 in the last 18 series meetings in Houston
Los Angeles Angels vs Houston Astros Odds and Action
UPDATE 5:45 P.M. ET MONDAY: Houston opened as a -159 favorite on PointsBet USA’s Monday MLB odds board around midday Sunday, bounced between -154 and -159, then shot up -164. By this morning, the Astros slid back to -159 and once again vacillated between -154 and -159. They’re currently -155, with the Angels +130 on the take-back. There’s heavy action on the home team, with 81% of tickets and a whopping 94% of money on Houston. With the exception of some minor juice adjustments, the total has held firm at the opener of 9. Right now, the Under is -121 on one-sided betting splits of 81% wagers/93% cash on the Under.
UPDATE 12:25 P.M. ET MONDAY: BetMGM made the Astros a -161 favorite late Sunday night, but early money on the Angels dropped Houston to -155 then -150 and now -145. The take-back on Los Angeles is +120. The total opened at 9 flat on BetMGM’s Monday MLB odds board and remains there but with the Under juiced at -115. Check back later for betting splits on this game.
