Welcome to the first weekly game and prop column for Sunday Night Baseball for SGP. If you were a fan of Ryan Kramer’s weekly Monday Night Football column, you’re in the right place for baseball. Normally, Scott Bowser will be putting these up for you guys but I’m taking the reigns tonight.
And boy, what A game that fell in my lap with the ageless and weight-less Bartolo Colon. Seriously, he’s still pitching.
Sunday Night Baseball Game Info
Time: Sunday, April 15th @ 5:08 PM Pacific
Location: Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX.
Weather: 58 degrees, wind 2mph NW
TV: ESPN
MoneyLine: Houston Astros (-345) Vs. Texas Rangers (+265)
Spread: Houston Astros (-1.5) -230 Vs. Texas Rangers (+1.5) +190
Total: 8.0 (-110)
Side & Total:
Look, I hate to say we picked a bad game to start the season with, but this one is pretty obvious. The only thing that should concern you is the number of public bettors who will be attempting to close out their parlays with Houston tonight. This one is pretty simple as The Astros come in at 10-5 and Texas limps in at 5-11. The spread is somewhat unplayable and even the money line is a little bit too rich for my blood there.
Houston trots out ace Justin Verlander (2-0, 1.45 ERA) who has rejuvenated his career with Houston and looks to be in the same form that brought him a Cy-Young just a few years ago. So, with that being said, I’m perfectly fine putting Houston in an open money line parlay at that price-although I would look in the first five market as Houston’s bullpen is still a bit of an issue, and I like playing straight up with Verlander Vs. Bartolo Colon for five innings. Verlander is 12-6 with a 2.88 ERA over 21 career starts against Texas and has won nine straight decisions against them. Colon is 8-4 with a 4.09 ERA over 13 starts against Houston.
Prop Bets:
Joey Gallo H+R+RBI’S Over 2.0 (even)
Gallo is one of my favorite up and coming players in the game and was a personal max-bet of mine for over 35.5 home runs for him this year as I thought that was the worst number on the board and should be closer to 40.5. Gallo can get to this number with one swing of the bat, as he already has five home runs on the young season through 16 games. I’m worried Verlander may legitimately throw a no-hitter against this lineup, but it also acts as a hedge to take some Rangers in the prop market if you’re going to add Houston in an open parlay.
The Big Three:
Jose Altuve, George Springer, & Carlos Correa all have a 2.5 line for hits+runs+RBI’s but I’m going to focus on one-Altuve. By hitting leadoff he has the ability to get on base early and often and let the guys behind him do the work, which will help in the runs department.
Jose Altuve H+R+RBI Over 2.5 +125
