Astros vs. Yankees: Picks, predictions, how to watch Sunday’s game

The Houston Astros and New York Yankees square off on Sunday, June 26 with first pitch set for 1:35 p.m. ET. The game takes place at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY and will only be available on local TV or through an MLB.tv subscription. Jose Urquidy (6-3, 4.68 ERA) will step on the mound for the Astros while Nestor Cortes (6-3, 2.31 ERA) will get the nod for the Yankees.

Houston (45-26) is coming into this one with all the momentum as they pulled off the combined no-hitter on Saturday. Cristian Javier, Hector Neris and Ryan Pressly combined for the no-no and it was the first time New York had been no-hit since 2003. Urquidy will be making his 14th start of the season. In his last, he pitched six innings and gave up four hits and one earned run while striking out five on his way to the sixth win of his season. Houston will be off Monday before beginning a two-game series with the New York Mets on Tuesday.

New York (52-20) saw its worst nightmares come to fruition on Saturday. Gerrit Cole pitched really well and only gave up one earned run while striking out eight in seven innings. Their lineup disappeared as they struck out 15 times while not registering a hit. The Yankees still have one of the best offenses in the league and they won’t be kept down long. Cortes will also be starting his 14th game of the year. He is coming off one of his worst so far as he pitched only 4.1 innings and gave up six hits and four earned runs while striking out only three on the way to his third loss of the year. After this game, the Yankees will welcome the Oakland Athletics to town for a three-game series starting Monday.

Astros vs. Yankees

Pitchers: Jose Urquidy vs. Nestor Cortes
First pitch: 1:35 p.m. ET
Astros local broadcast: AT&T SportsNet Southwest
Yankees local broadcast: YES Network
Live stream: MLB.tv (subscription)

Odds, picks & predictions

Run Line: New York -1.5
Run total: 9
Moneyline odds: Houston +140, New York -165

Moneyline pick: New York -165

Both starting pitchers have been great so far this season. Cortes hasn’t been as consistent, but we know his stuff is good. He hasn’t lost two games in a row all year and New York hasn’t lost as a team in consecutive Cortes starts. You know the Yankees are going to be pissed coming off getting no-hit and I think their offense gets back on track.

Player prop pick: Aaron Judge over 1.5 hits (+160)

Judge has been held hitless these last two games and his batting average has dipped below .300. Expect him to be aggressive and reach base multiple times on base knocks this afternoon.

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