They did it. After a grueling five-game series and an odds-altering rain delay, the New York Yankees pulled out a win against the scrappy Cleveland Guardians in Yankee Stadium Tuesday night. Twenty-four 24 from the end of their ALDS win, the Yankees were back on the field to take on the well-rested Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series.
Houston has won the first three games of the series and will go for the sweep Sunday night, Oct. 23, so that means it’s time to check back in with the New York Yankees odds.
The Astros didn’t have an easy three games against the Mariners, but they did sweep the series. Each game was close and each run fiercely contested, but the three-game sweep means that Houston has had an extra three days of rest – and they play with home-field advantage for the first two games.
The Yankees, on the other hand, are coming off a tough week of travel and a closely contested ALDS victory. They’ve traveled to Cleveland and back in the last five days, and now are flying again to Houston.
The Astros bested the Yankees 5 of the 7 times the teams faced off in 2022, but they haven’t played each other since late July. Since then, arguably, the Astros have only gotten stronger, while the Yankees floundered in August, and struggled to make it out of the last playoff round.
This is the third time in six years that the Yankees and Astros are facing each other in the ALCS. The Astros are looking to nab their third AL Pennant in six years, while the Yankees are aiming to climb back into their first World Series since 2009. In their last two ALCS appearances, the Yankees were ousted by none other than the Houston Astros (though one of those years involved the notorious cheating scandal).
Can Aaron Judge and the Yankees break their World Series drought? The odds … are not so much in their favor. Let’s check them out.
Yankees Playoffs Betting Odds: Yankees vs. Astros
The Astros were the favorites in the first two games and won both of them. They were underdogs in Game 3 on Saturday, but they won that one 5-0. Now they are the heavy favorites to win the best-of-seven series. In fact, in odds to win the World Series outright, Houston is the favorite as well, with New York trailing both Houston and Philly in third place.
Here are the best Yankees playoffs betting odds for Game 4 of the ALCS against the Astros across top New York sports betting outlets.
The last time the Yankees beat the Astros was in Yankee Stadium on June 26. The two teams split a four-game series and the Yanks beat the Astros 6-3 in the 10th inning. Since then the teams have played five times and the Yankees lost all five.
Here’s the full schedule, and we’ll keep you updated throughout the series:
- Game 1: Astros 4, Yankees 2
- Game 2: Astros 3, Yankees 2
- Game 3: Astros 5, Yankees 0
- Game 4: Sunday, Oct. 23, 7:07 p.m. ET, @Yankees
- Game 5: Monday, Oct. 24, 4:07 p.m. ET, @Yankees (if necessary)
- Game 6: Tuesday, Oct. 25, 6:07 p.m. ET, @Astros (if necessary)
- Game 7: Wednesday, Oct. 26, 7:37 p.m. ET, @Astros (if necessary)
Watch the games on TBS and MLB.TV.
Probable Pitching Matchups for Yankees vs. Astros
For Game 3, the Yankees are turning to ace Gerrit Cole to try to right the ship. The former Astro has been strong all season and again in the playoffs, so the Yankees will be confident heading into Saturday’s contest. Houston will send Cristian Javier to the bump.
Nestor Cortes (Postseason: 1-0, 2.70 ERA, 10.0 IP, 5 K)
Odds are not yet available.
Lance McCullers Jr. (Postseason: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 7 K)
Player Props for Yankees vs. Astros
Player props are a great way to jazz up your sports betting experience, going beyond game lines to invest in the outcomes of specific players. Here are some of the best odds for player props for the upcoming series.
Aaron Judge
In addition to making history with the most homers in the drug-testing era, Aaron Judge is the most likely candidate to win the AL MVP. He also nearly claimed the elusive AL Triple Crown, dropping to second only in one category, batting average. Minnesota’s Luis Arraez narrowly beat Judge with a batting average of .316 to Judge’s .311.
Judge was held to 4 hits in 20 at-bats against Cleveland, with 11 strikeouts. But when two of those hits are homers, it makes all the difference. Judge is 4-for-27 against Astros pitchers this season, though he does have 2 homers and 7 RBIs.
Giancarlo Stanton
Stanton has been inconsistent due to injury this season, but if he can get hot in the ALCS, he’ll be one of the most important players on the Yankees’ deep team. He had 31 homers and 78 RBIs in the regular season. So far in the postseason, he’s had 2 hits and 6 strikeouts. But both hits were home runs and he racked up 6 RBIs. His three-run homer in Game 5 against the Guardians gave the Yankees an early lead they never relinquished.
Against the Astros, Stanton is 5-for-24 with 3 home runs, 5 RBIs, and 10 strikeouts.
Anthony Rizzo
Rizzo is another hitter to look to in this series. He has 32 home runs this season and 75 RBIs. In the series against Cleveland, Rizzo had 5 hits with 1 homer, 4 RBIs, and 5 strikeouts. Against Houston this season, though, Rizzo has struggled to connect. He has 2 hits, 1 RBI, and 4 strikeouts in 19 at-bats, though one of those hits was a homer.
Yordan Alvarez
Kyle Tucker
Elsewhere in the MLB Playoffs
The National League’s early playoff rounds were a story of upset after upset, with the odds leaders — the Dodgers, Braves, and Mets — knocked out before making it to the NLCS. Instead, whoever wins the ALCS will face either the Phillies or the Padres, two teams that didn’t even crack 90 wins during the regular season.
The Phillies lead the NLCS 3-1 and have a chance to clinch the pennant Sunday afternoon at home.
AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki
About the Author
