Houston Astros vs. Los Angeles Angels: Odds, Preview, & Prediction | Thursday, July 14th

Houston Astros vs. Los Angeles Angels Preview: Back the Astros with Valdez on the mound

The Houston Astros will take on the Los Angeles Angels in a series rubbermatch tonight in Los Angeles. The Angels snapped a five-game losing streak last night behind a great start from Shohei Ohtani.

Houston has been a very good team on the road this season, with a record of 30-18 away from Texas. The Los Angeles Angels have been mediocre at home, compiling a record of 22-24 while playing at their home stadium. If you want betting action on this game, you've come to the right place.

Below, you will find a brief preview of each team followed by a prediction for the game.

Houston Astros Preview:

"Wrapping up the road trip."- Astros

The Houston Astros have relied on their pitching staff all season. Both the starting rotation and the bullpen rank in the top five in the MLB in ERA. Tonight, they will send Framber Valdez to the mound. Valdez has been exceptional this season, with a record of 8-4 to go along with an ERA of 2.64. He has turned in 14 consecutive quality starts, which is an amazing feat.

The offense is led by Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman. They will be without Yordan Alvarez yet again. However, tonight they have a great matchup against a pitcher they had success against earlier in the season. The key to victory for the Astros is to give Valdez some run support, because he has been very effective lately.

Los Angeles Angels Preview:

"Detmers Day."- Angels

The Angels picked up a much-needed win last night. They will look to duplicate that result tonight. The Angels offense has slowed down drastically as of late. Missing Mike Trout from the lineup will not help that situation. The Los Angeles offense ranks 26th in the MLB in terms of team batting average.

The Angels will send Reid Detmers to the mound for this contest. He has struggled with consistency so far, turning in some quality starts with some very poor outings mixed in. This season, Detmers has an ERA of 4.22 to go along with a 2-3 record. The key to victory for Los Angeles is to keep this game low. The Astros have one of the best rotations in the league, so runs may be at a premium.

Pick/Prediction: Astros F5 -0.5 (-125)

They have both the pitching and offensive advantage in the game tonight. They have a bad taste in their mouths after last night's performance, so look for the Astros to come out strong. We're going with Houston to lead after five innings of play. Let's go 'Stros!