Pinnacle -1½ +133 BET365 -1½ +130 SportsInteraction -1½ +125 BetOnline -1½ +128 Bookmaker -1½

Posted at 4:10 PM EST. 

Houston -1½ +130 over BOSTON

7:10 PM EST. Framber Valdez (LHP - HOU) missed almost two months with a fractured ring finger. After tossing a dud in his initial start this season, he bounced back with a strong start in his last time out. That start was also against the Red Sox, where he struck out 10 in seven innings. We don't expect a repeat performance but we'll live with whatever Valdez delivers, as this is about fading Boston's red-hoit starter.

We absolutely love that Martin Perez (LHP - BOS) mowed down the Astronauts last week in Houston because that ain’t happening here. Across his last five starts, Perez is certainly in good form, going 4-0 with a 1.82 ERA. Yes folks, Martín Pérez is coming off his best start of the season, a real gem in which he held the Astros scoreless over 7.2 innings but this is a dude that is giving off shaky signs everywhere we look. Years of unrosterable xERA/xWHIP and no consistency just means more of the same and that's not a good thing. The Astros have been excellent against left-handed pitching this season, with a .286 BA and .797 OPS. We’re probably safe in assuming that the Astronauts can’t wait to swing their sticks against Perez again. 

We’re going to split this up a bit, as BET365 and likely a few other books allow you to bet a team by exactly the winning margin. Therefore, you can pencil us in for 1.7 units on the Astros at -1½ +130 and 0.3 units on the Astros to win by exactly one run at 8-1. The latter wager can be found in BET365’s baseball menu under Main Props - Winning Margins.

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