San Francisco Giants vs. Houston Astros, 5/23/2018 Prediction & Odds

Giants vs. Astros Wednesday Pick

After a high-scoring game last night, will Tuesday afternoon's matchup between the San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros fall under the betting total at 2:10 p.m. ET?

Game Snapshot & Odds

977 San Francisco Giants (+225) at 978 Houston Astros (-270); 7.5 runs

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

2:10 p.m. ET, Minute Maid Park

TV: SF (NBCSBA); HOU (ATTH)

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Public Betting Trends

Oddsmakers from online sportsbooks currently list the Astros as a -270 favorite. As of this writing, 79% of the betting tickets wagered at online sportsbooks are on the Astros to beat the Giants on the moneyline. This information is subject to change, however, so be sure to check out our MLB Public Betting Page for updated figures on this game.

Giants' Samardzija last into seventh inning in last start

Jeff Samardzija surrendered three runs on five hits over 6 2/3 innings while taking a no-decision in Thursday's 12-inning loss to the Rockies. Samardzija struck out three and walked three in what was a forgettable -- but not wholly disastrous -- outing. All three runs on his line scored in the second inning, with Daniel Castro burning him for a two-run single and opposing starter Chad Bettis adding to the pain with an RBI single. Outside of that frame, though, the veteran right-hander proved serviceable enough.

After getting a late start to the season due to a pectoral strain, Samardzija has mostly struggled, posting a 6.30 ERA and 1.60 WHIP through his first six starts. He'll try to make further headway against those distressing statistics when he takes the ball against the Astros in a road date next time out. That figures to be a challenging affair.

Verlander dominates for Astros in shutout of Angels

Justin Verlander continued his early-season dominance on Wednesday, scattering five hits and a walk over nine shutout innings against the Angels. It's the eighth shutout of Verlander's career and first since the 2015 season. He racked up seven strikeouts on the night. The biggest jams that he was in on the evening came in the final two innings. In the eighth, the Angels put runners at second and third with one out before Verlander fanned Luis Valbuena and got Mike Trout to bounce back to the mound. Then with two outs in the ninth, Albert Pujols singled and Andrelton Simmons walked to put the tying runs on base, but the right-hander was able to battle back and get Zack Cozart to pop out on his 118th pitch of the night.

Now 5-2 on the season, Verlander owns a jaw-dropping 1.05 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and 84/14 K/BB ratio over 68 2/3 innings. He and teammate Gerrit Cole look to be the early front-runners for the American League Cy Young Award.

MLB Betting Trends

San Francisco

After getting drilled last night, the Giants are 8-3 in their last 11 games versus the Astros and are 5-2 in their last seven games in Houston.

Houston

The over is 4-1 in the last five meetings between these two teams in Houston.

Prediction:

I'm scared to bet the under with Samardjiza on the mound for the Giants but I don't think San Francisco will sniff Verlander. Thus, even if the Astros pile up some runs this afternoon hopefully the margin of error will still be enough with Verlander doing his thing. The under is a perfect 5-0 in Verlander's last five starts and is 4-0 in his last four home outings.

The Pick: Giants/Astros under 7.5