Houston Astros vs. Cleveland Guardians August 6 Betting Preview

After losing the first two games of the series, the Cleveland Guardians (54-52) will look to get back on track Saturday as they host the Houston Astros (70-38) in the third of a four-game series. This game will be played at Progressive Field, with the first pitch scheduled for 6:10 pm ET.

In Friday’s game, Houston was able to coast to an easy 9-3 victory. Framber Valdez threw his 18th consecutive quality start, going 6.1 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits.

Offensively, trade deadline acquisition Trey Mancini had a huge night for Houston. He went two for five with two home runs (including one grand slam), five runs batted in, and two runs scored. Jose Altuve also added three hits in the victory.

Rookie Hunter Gaddis had a rude introduction to the majors for Cleveland as he lasted just 3.1 innings. In that span, he gave up eight runs on seven hits while striking out two.

Amed Rosario hit his seventh home run of the season, but Cleveland struggled to generate much offense. Luke Maile was the only player to have a multi-hit game as he went two for four.

Astros vs. Guardians August 6 Odds

Despite playing on the road, the Astros are again favorites on Saturday. They are -162 to win while the Guardians’ moneyline sits at +136. 

The runline features Cleveland +1.5 (-128), and the over/under for total runs is 9.

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Pitching Matchup

The Astros will send 25-year-old righty Luis Garcia to the mound Saturday. In 19 games, he is 8-7 with a 3.81 ERA and 1.07 WHIP, and he has 112 strikeouts in 106.1 innings. He has taken back-to-back losses, giving up seven runs in his last 12.2 innings.

Cleveland will counter with righty Cal Quantrill. He is 7-5 in 20 games with a 4.08 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, and has 75 strikeouts in 117 innings. Quantrill has also struggled as of late, giving up nine earned runs in his last 11.1 innings.

Houston Looks To Stay Solid On The Road

The Astros have been one of the best teams in baseball this year, and part of the reason is their consistency both at home and on the road. They are a solid 34-17 at Minute Maid Park, but they are almost equally as strong on the road, going 36-21 this season.

While the pitching has been their strong suit this season, the offense can certainly generate runs in a hurry, as seen in the first two games of this series. Houston’s best hitter to date has been Yordan Alvarez, who is hitting .306/.412/.650 with a team-leading 30 home runs, 73 runs batted in, and 69 runs scored.

There may not be a better way to introduce yourself to a new fanbase than what Trey Mancini is doing. In 11 at bats with the Astros thus far, he has three hits. Those three hits, though, have all been home runs and have led to seven runs batted in. For the year, Mancini is now hitting .268/.345/.425 with 13 home runs, 48 runs batted in, and 42 runs.

Cleveland Needs To Elevate Their Game

To be the best, you have to beat the best. Unfortunately for Cleveland, this saying has rung hollow in the first two games as they have shown little fight against a solid Houston team. Still, with two games remaining, the Guardians have the opportunity to try to split the series and gain some momentum heading into their series next week with Detroit.

One name to keep an eye on Saturday is Jose Ramirez. Albeit in just three at bats, Ramirez has two hits, including a home run and three runs batted in against Luis Garcia in his career.

Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a whole lot of success elsewhere against Garcia. In fact, in 21 at bats outside of Ramirez, the team has just two hits, and no runs batted in.

Cleveland will hope for a big day out of Josh Naylor. Against righties this season, he is hitting .300 in 203 at bats with 13 home runs and 43 runs batted in.

Cleveland Looks To Take Advantage Of Garcia’s Inconsistency

While the starting rotation is solid throughout for the Astros, Luis Garcia has probably struggled more than any of the other pitchers as of late. As a result, Saturday is a game that Cleveland really needs to find a way to put up a crooked number to take some pressure off of the starter.

Unfortunately, Cal Quantrill has not exactly been sharp himself as of late. Against an Astros’ offense that seems to be heating up, he will have the tough challenge of trying to limit the damage.

Regardless, with both the Twins and White Sox putting pressure on the AL Central division lead, Cleveland can’t afford to drop too many more games. On Saturday, they will try to add another tally to the win column.