MLB Quick Picks – Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Houston Astros

The Houston Astros will try to start another winning streak on Friday night, after having a winning streak snapped in their last game, when they welcome the Pittsburgh Pirates. One of the reason the ‘Stros will be so welcoming is that the man they send to the mound, Mike Hampton, has had great success recently versus the Pirates. For the season Hampton is 3 and 4 with a 5.07 ERA and a WHIP of 1.44. Against the Pirates, Hampton has gone 2 and 0 with a .69 ERA.

The Pirates counter Mike Hampton with pitcher Jeff Karstens. Karstens has gone 2 and 2 with a 4.83 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP this season. Against Houston, he gave up only 2 runs in seven innings the last time he faced them.

Here is the BetOnline online sportsbook betting line for this game.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Jeff Karstens – R +1 ½ -170 +120 O 9 -120 O/U 4 -130/Ev

Houston Astros

Mike Hampton – L -1 ½ +150 -140 U 9 Ev O/U 4 ½ -120/-110

Here are a few online wagering trends for this game.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are 4 and 1 in their last 5 games overall.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are 4 and 12 in Jeff Karstens last 16 starts.

The Houston Astros are 1 and 5 in their last 6 games as the favorite.

The Houston Astros are 0 and 6 in Mike Hampton’s last 6 starts at home.

The key in betting this game is to decide whether or not both Hampton and Karstens will either play to their overall stats or play to their individual stats versus each team.

Mike Hampton has been brilliant against the Pirates so far this season. The ERA of .69 is absolutely phenomenal.

But Jeff Karstens was very good against the Astros in his last game when giving up only 2 runs in over 7 innings. The problem, of course, is that in that game the total ended up at 11 as the Astros found a way to score two more runs and the Pirates picked up 7.

But the seven that the Pirates picked up wasn’t against Mike Hampton.

My gut tells me that this game has a fantastic chance of going under. Hampton shouldn’t yield more than two runs. If Karstens does the same, sticks to around two or three, then the bull pens from each squad would have to totally meltdown to reach the BetOnline Total of 9 runs.

I don’t see that happening.

I’m going to wager that this game goes under the total of 9 runs.