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The Houston Astros and New York Yankees square off on Friday with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. ET. The game takes place at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York and will be available to watch on ESPN+. Justin Verlander (8-3, 2.30 ERA) will start for the Astros, while the Yankees will begin with Luis Severino (4-1, 3.27 ERA) on the mound.
Houston (43-26) had a three-game winning streak snapped when it allowed 4 runs in the bottom of the ninth to lose last night’s Game 1 of this series. Verlander started just one game over 2019 and 2020 but returned to his dominant self over 13 starts this season. The Astros will come in with the fifth-best OPS (.739), and Yordan Alvarez has 5 home runs in his last five games including 4 homers in the last three matchups.
New York (52-18) won last night’s game 7-6 after a 3-run homer from Aaron Hicks tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, and Aaron Judge drove in the game-winning run with a single. Severino made 12 starts this season and is coming off an appearance where he allowed 5 runs over 5 innings in a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. The Yankees average the second-most runs per game (5.1), led by Judge, who has a league-high 27 home runs this season.
Astros vs. Yankees
Pitchers: Justin Verlander vs. Luis Severino
First pitch: 7:05 p.m. ET
Astros local broadcast: AT&T SportsNet Southwest
Yankees local broadcast: YES
Live stream: WatchESPN, ESPN app with an ESPN+ subscription
Odds, picks & predictions
Run Line: Yankees -1.5 (+165)
Run total: 7.5
Moneyline odds: Yankees -130, Astros +110
Moneyline pick: Yankees -130
New York has a 15-game home winning streak going into Friday night, and let’s go with that to continue. The Yankees have the offensive edge, and they should keep playing with confidence with the best record in baseball, especially after such a thrilling victory in Game 1 on Thursday.
Player prop pick: Aaron Hicks Over 0.5 hits (-115)
Hicks had the big home run in last night’s game, and he has been swinging the bat well recently. He recorded at least 1 hit in five of his last six games, and Verlander is coming off a start where he gave up 9 hits over 3.2 innings. This could be a good spot for Hicks to get on base despite a .233 batting average.
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