Both teams have question marks on the mound heading into the April 9th Astros at Angels betting matchup. Justin Verlander returns to the bump for Houston for the first time since Opening Day of 2020 (July) while Noah Syndergaard has also missed most of the last two seasons as he heads into his Angels debut.
Verlander would seem to have the advantage on Saturday night mostly because of the way his offense has played so far in the opening weekend series. The Astros won 3-1 on Thursday night and then handed out a 13-6 beating on Friday. What can the Angels do to get into the win column for the first time since 2022.
Impressive Start for Houston
Even though they only won the season opener 3-1, there were still some things to like from the Houston offense. First off they handed Shohei Ohtani a loss even though he only had two all of last season. The Astros also got HRs from Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvares as they ran their win streak to season openers to 10 games.
5 of Houston’s 8 hits on Thursday went for extra bases, and that trend continued on Friday with the Astros hitting six HRs as a team. Bregman had another one, Kyle Tucker had two, and rookie SS Jeremy Pena hit his first career long ball right as his parents were being interviewed on TV. Pena has a tough task of replacing Carlos Correa, but he was 3-5 on Friday.
The big issue for the April 9th Astros at Angels betting matchup is how Verlander will perform after making his first appearance since July of 2020 (which was Opening Day in the COVID shortened season) following Tommy John surgery. The good news is that he’s looked good this Spring, with a 1.32 ERA over 13.2 IP.
Syndergaard Faces a Test
Syndergaard missed all of 2020 while he faced his own Tommy John surgery and most of 2021 before coming back for two starts late last season. Those two outings and a full offseason are probably huge for Syndergaard to regain some of his confidence, but at the same time Tommy John surgeries aren’t the career enders that they used to be.
It’s almost a rite of passage to get a Tommy John surgery nowadays, as evidenced by Syndergaard posting a 1.04 ERA with 11 K’s in 8.2 IP of work this Spring. The big issue is the team he’s facing, the red hot Astros offense who already have 8 HR through the first two games.
The Angels offense is largely still trying to get untracked with Mike Trout 1-6, Anthony Rendon 1-7, and Ohtani 1-9 through two games. The lone bright spot has been Jared Walsh who is 3-8 with a couple of RBI.
April 9th Astros at Angels Betting Pick
Houston is just a -115 favorite in this contest which seems to have trap game written all over it. The Astros have looked lights out in starting 2-0 but that number is pointing to an Angels pick. 62% of the public is sticking with the Astros and how could you not with that lineup. This ML should be -140 or higher though, and this is a play against the trap.
Free Pick: Angels -105
