Yankees vs. Astros Prediction and Odds for ALCS Game 2 (Houston's Offense Holds Advantage)

The New York Yankees play for the third straight day as they head into Game 2 of the ALCS Thursday evening against the Houston Astros.

Houston sends out Framber Valdez, one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball this season to duel with Luis Severino.

The Astros took the opener Wednesday night behind Justin Verlander's six inning, 11 strikeout performance, while Yuli Gurriel, Chas McCormick and Jeremy Peña all went yard in their 4-2 victory.

Here are the odds for this one from Minute Maid Park:

Yankees vs. Astros Odds, Run Line and Total

Yankees vs. Astros Prediction and Pick

Severino is not known for his postseason heroics, posting a 5.17 ERA across nine starts in his big league career. He has also struggled against the Astros in six career starts against them, posting a near-4.00 ERA.

He pitched against the Astros twice in the 2017 postseason and once in the 2019 edition, failing to get out of the fifth inning all three times. For what it's worth, Houston has hit three home runs against in him those three starts and won all three games.

The Astros are as disciplined as they come at the plate, posting the second lowest strikeout rate in baseball to go with the sixth highest weighted-runs-created-plus, or wRC+. Furthermore, they walk at a top 10 rate as well.

The Yankees' bullpen is depleted at this point of the season, and once Severino is pulled before he gets through the Astros order, the Houston offense will take off. I'm playing the team total over 3.5 runs as I key in on this particular matchup.

LEAN: Astros Team Total OVER 3.5 (-125)

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.