Astros vs. Mets Prediction and Odds for Wednesday, June 29 (Do Yourself a Favor and Bet on Justin Verlander)

Two of the best teams in the league are set to go head to head on Wednesday when the New York Mets and Houston Astros clash at Citi Field.

As far as Wednesday’s MLB slate goes, I think this is the only can't-miss game on the schedule.

Not only are these two teams well matched, but today’s pitching duel could be epic with Justin Verlander facing off against fellow veteran Taijuan Walker. The Mets entered this series 0-2 against the Astros so far this year but Walker gives them a good chance to end this series with a win. 

Here are the odds for this game, courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook. 

Astros vs. Mets Odds, Run Line, and Total

Run Line

• Astros: -1.5 (+130)
• Mets: +1.5 (-160)

Moneyline:

• Astros: -129
• Mets: +119

Total:

• 7.5 (Over -125/Under +105)

Astros vs. Mets Prediction and Pick

I still can’t believe how well Verlander is pitching at 39 years of age for the Astros this year. The future first-ballot Hall of Famer leads the MLB with nine wins, ranks sixth with a 2.22 ERA and third with a 0.87 WHIP.

It's amazing to watch him continue to dominate while his contemporary HOF bound competitors are all losing their touch. Verlander hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down with a 2.56 ERA in five June starts totaling 31 ⅔ innings.

He had one slip up against the White Sox last weekend and gave up four runs over seven innings. But it was maybe his second bad start of the year so no big deal. He bounced back and beat the Yankees on Friday allowing just one run over seven innings. 

Walker, meanwhile, has been arguably more impressive. Not because he’s having a better season than Verlander, but because Walker hasn’t pitched this well over half a season since 2017 when he was with the Diamondbacks.

Since then, Walker had just one full season on the mound and finished with an ERA of 4.47. His 6-2 record, 3.03 ERA, and 1.21 WHIP rank him among the best in the NL right now. 

And while Walker’s resurgence is a pleasant surprise, I do worry about him against this specific lineup. Over the course of his 11-year career, the current Astros lineup has a .486 batting average against him. And we’re not talking a few trips to the plate here, the current Mets lineup has dozens of at-bats against Walker.

He’s also given up eight extra-base bits and an OPS of 1.210 against these guys. 

The Astros with Verlander on the hill is one of the most dangerous combos in baseball this year. For as good as the Mets are, I don’t think they find much success at the plate today and ultimately fall to the visiting Astros. 

Pick: Astros ML (-129)

Follow all of Matt De Saro’s betting picks HERE