Football 
Tennis 
Horse Racing MLB Thursday Best Bet: Stros Out To Sweep The Nats
Houston Astros vs Washington Nationals Best Bet – Thursday, June 15th
The Stros will have brooms in hand as they attempt to sweep the Washington Nationals on Thursday night as they complete the 3-game set. Our resident baseball expert from the States is out to give our readers another best bet full of value, so let’s take it to the diamond and see what Ej has to dish out today!
In this article:
Houston Astros vs Washington Nationals Preview
June 16, 01:10 (UK time)
The Washington Nationals have lost 8 of their last 9 games, and now they are in a position to be swept out of Houston by the Astros. The Stros earned a 6 – 1 win on Tuesday to open this 3-game set but it wasn’t as easy to pick up the win on Wednesday night.
Houston closer Ryan Pressly came into the game with a 4 – 1 lead headed to the top of the 9th inning, but he was unable to shut the door. Washington sent three men across the plate to tie the game at 4 – 4, and Houston ended the game with a win on a throwing error in the bottom of the 9th inning.
Hunter Harvey got the call to pitch the bottom of the frame, and he got himself in trouble right out of the gate. After letting the first two men get on base, Harvey loaded the bases with one out and Washington had a chance to send the game to extra innings. Jack Myers slashed a grounder to short and came home with the throw to get the force at home, and the catcher Keibert Ruiz made a poor throw to first which led to the eventual game-winning run for the Stros.
It seems like this type of thing happens to the Nationals all too often this campaign, and it is stuff like that which has me eyeing the handicap for this tilt on Thursday. As you all know, I don’t settle for odds with juice attached to the action, and I am always out to find the better line for us to cash.
MacKenzie Gore is listed as the probable starter for Washington tonight, and he is expected to battle against Cristian Javier from the Astros. Talk about opposites!
Javier is sporting a 7 – 1 record with a 3.13 ERA, and MacKenzie Gore is having a disastrous season in 2023. Gore is giving up home runs in seemingly every start he makes, and he’s given up at least one dinger in 7 of his last 8 outings. The last time Gore was seen on a big league mound, he was pitching against the Braves and Atlanta tagged him twice!
My confidence in Javier far outweighs any lick of ability from Gore in Houston to salvage a win in this series, and that is why I am pointing us to the -2.5 handicap offer on the Stros at home.
We could settle for the -1.5 handicap option because those odds are relatively decent at 2.02. Even money to cover multiple runs doesn’t seem worth it to me, however, so let’s bump it up a run so we can cash a nicer ticket on Thursday.
Houston Astros vs Washington Nationals Best Bet
Do you like those odds? William Hill is offering 2.65 odds on the Astros’ -2.5 spread, and that is the best bet to make for this game. Houston is going to explode for 4 early runs to open the game as they did on Tuesday, but this time that lead won’t evaporate into thin air as it did on Wednesday night.
Houston will only expand that lead instead. Expect an 8 – 2 home win for the Stros, as they break out the brooms after the sweep of the Nats!
- Selection: Houston -2.5 Handicap Runs
- Best odds: 2.65 (William Hill)
- Stakes: 4/10
Odds as of 8:00 am June 15, 2023. Odds may now differ.
More Houston Astros vs Washington Nationals Tips
