Houston Astros vs. Toronto Blue Jays Prediction: Will Yusei Kikuchi Struggle In Houston?
Houston Astros vs. Toronto Blue Jays Prediction: Will Yusei Kikuchi Struggle In Houston?
Astros vs. Blue Jays Start Time and Where to Watch
- Date: April 24, 2022
- Game Time: 2:10 pm ET
- Where to Watch: ESPN+
Click here for Astros vs Blue Jays Odds
Click here to claim our best BetMGM Promo Code for all the MLB action or check out the offers below for a selection of the best offers available on site!
Houston Astros vs. Toronto Blue Jays Pick
1u - Yusei Kikuchi Under 15.5 pitching outs (-140) (Bet $140 to win $100)
*Odds Available at Caesars at Time of Publishing*
Kikuchi has had an interesting year throughout his 2 starts thus far. He hasn’t gotten pummeled and he hasn’t allowed many hits but he’s had long innings. The new Jays lefty has only allowed 8 hits in his first two starts but hasn’t entered the game in the 6th inning once. I love when getting numbers like 15.5 because most benchings come between innings. We just bet Rogers the other night at under 15.5 and he finished with 15, it’s just simple math people. Astros don’t seem like the team that I think pitchers look at as a “get right” spot. I expect them to hang a few runs on him and get him out quickly.
I know I just talked up a 6-8 ball club that is on a 4-game losing streak but we know that won’t last long and this is at least a 90-win ball club. This feels like a nice get right spot. Kikuchi has had many duels with these Astros batters and has allowed 48 baserunners in 146 at-bats which is good for nearly a .330 OBP. Although that’s nothing too crazy a great sign is the 17 walks. If he continues to struggle with his command, he will have a hard time finding the 6th inning for the first time this year.
Kikuchi played Houston six times last year and struggled with a 5.64 ERA against them. I always think more experience between a batter and pitcher will help out the batter more. I think the Astros are number 1 in my “due rankings” and this feels like where they have an offensive explosion. With that being said, there are other bets I like that go hand in hand with but I like this one because we’ve seen him have good games this year but only go 5 innings because he’s consistently throwing 20 pitch innings. I would not touch this at 14.5 one bit, I think he ends with 5 exact.