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• Houston Astros vs. Cincinnati Reds
• Sunday, June 18 at 4:10 PM ET
• Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas
How will the 2023 campaign end for the Houston Astros? This is something that people can’t wait to find out, as things are really looking strong for the AL West side. With all due respect to the other teams in the division, they don’t come close to Houston’s level of play. The Astros can also boost their confidence by taking care of Cincinnati in a big set of games on the way. With that said, the Astros are favored to beat the Reds in Sunday’s series finale.
Let’s be honest, the Reds have looked quite rough throughout the year, but they’ve been exciting of late thanks to calling up some of their top prospects. With that said, they’re not near the talent level of the Astros, who are currently 39-29 on the year. Houston supporters will be packing the stadium too, as this series is all set to be played at Minute Maid Park. That’s going to be a tough environment for the Reds to play in.
| Astros vs. Reds odds |  |  |  |  |
| Astros to win | -115 | -115 | -115 | -115 |
| Reds to win | +125 | +125 | +125 | +125 |
| Over to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
At the end of the day, it’s all going to come down if Houston can do what it does best: hit the cover off the ball. Houston has one of the most impressive lineups in the major leagues. This is why the team is hoping to go back-to-back in winning the World Series. That of course won’t be easy, but no one will be able to argue that this team will be in the hunt for the rest of the campaign.
Come Sunday, it’ll be a shocker if the Astros don’t come out on top. According to the best-rated sportsbooks, which includes the reliable Bovada review, the Astros hold -115 MLB betting odds to post a victory. The Reds are the underdogs, being placed at +125. Again, it would be a shocker if the Astros don’t come away with an impressive win over Cincy. With that said, we’re going with the Astros as our pick.
HBD Dusty 🐐 pic.twitter.com/KEL6j6JmJo
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 15, 2023
The over should hit between the Astros and Reds on Sunday
Leading up to the action, the over should hit between the Astros and Reds on Sunday. While Houston is yet to announce who they’ll be starting for this one, Cincinnati is expected to rock with Luke Weaver against the AL West side this weekend. With all due respect to Weaver, he’s surely going to have a tough time trying to contain the loaded Houston lineup. Weaver has looked inconsistent in ’23.
On the year, the right-handed pitcher holds a 1-2 record with a 6.27 ERA. This is not what Cincinnati fans expected to see out of Weaver this year. There’s surely a lot of concern surrounding him leading up to the Astros game. Houston slugger Jose Altuve and others will be ready to tee off on him. Altuve has battled injuries this year, but he’s feeling much better these days.
Jose Altuve has scored 13 runs in his last 12 games, including his 1,000th career run.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) June 15, 2023
Unfortunately for the Astros and Yordan Alvarez, they’re going to be without Alvarez for around a month due to a new injury he suffered. However, others on the roster will be ready to step up in his absence. Altuve for one will have plenty of eyes on him to try and post a big series, especially in the finale. Altuve is one of the best infielders in the bigs. He missed the start of the season due to injury, but goodness, he has reminded people of how great he can be.
Per the oddsmakers, the over/under has been set at 6.5 runs for this contest. With Weaver on the mound, Houston will be ready to post an impressive offensive showing. Regardless of who Houston sends out, we expect the Reds to score some runs as well. With all of that said, we’re going with the over as our pick.
The Astros are hoping to get back to the World Series this fall
After winning it all last year, the Astros are hoping to get back to the World Series this fall. It’s not going to be easy for them, as the Tampa Bay Rays are a lot of experts’ picks to capture the AL pennant and get to the Fall Classic. However, Houston will look to prevent that from happening. In order for that to happen, though, the Astros are going to have to get healthy. With Alvarez out for a month, the hope is that he’ll be able to get back to 100 percent health soon after that. He’s important to the club.
After Altuve missed the first part of the year, he’s back to full health himself and looking like a great player. Altuve has home-run potential whenever he’s at the plate and his ability in the infield is tough to match. If the Astros are going to want to push for another title and win the AL, in which they hold +450 MLB betting odds, then Altuve will need to be at his best. We can’t wait to see how things go for this team later this year.
