The Houston Astros and Los Angeles Angels will play the finale of a 3-game AL West series on Wednesday night in Anaheim. The opening pitch is slated for 9:40 PM ET. The Angels won 2-1 on Monday and Houston came out on top 5-3 last night. Los Angeles is now 3-2 against Houston in 2018 and those games went 3-1-1 under the total.

Currently, the MLB odds at BetOnline is displaying Houston as a money line favorite of -131. There’s also a posted total of 7.5 at all the major offshore sportsbooks. At the time of this writing, Bookmaker is indicating there’s been a massive 94% of money line wagers made on Houston.

Probable Starting Pitchers

The Astros veteran right-hander Justin Verlander has been sensational so far in 2018. Verlander has compiled an excellent 1.21 ERA and 0.72 ERA during 9 starts while amassing 77 strikeouts in 59 2/3 innings pitched. He’s been even better than that in 3 road starts while collecting a microscopic 0.36 ERA during those outings. Despite those imposing numbers, Houston has managed to go just 5-4 this year with Verlander as their starting pitcher. That mediocre record can be attributed to the Astros scoring 2 runs or less in 5 of those 9 games and includes being held scoreless twice.

The Angels' Garrett Richards is slated to make his 9^th start of 2018. Richards has a 4.08 ERA and 1.31 WHIP during his first 8 outings. Los Angeles is 6-2 when Garrett Richards is their starting pitcher.

Both Teams Pitching Outstanding of Late

The Houston Astros are allowing a paltry 1.6 runs per game during its last 7 outings. As a matter of fact, they’ve surrendered 3 runs or less in each of their previous 9 games. Additionally, Houston’s opponents had 6 hits or less in 9 of the Astros last 11 games. During the earlier mentioned 7-game stretch, not only has the Astros starting pitching been superb, but Houston’s bullpen posted a collective 0.45 ERA. Furthermore, Houston’s relief corps hasn’t issued a walk in 8 straight games.

The Los Angeles Angels latest pitching performance lines haven’t been quite as domineering compared to Houston. Nonetheless, they’ve been pretty good in their own right. The Angels are conceding an average of 3.0 runs per game throughout its previous 7 appearances while opposition hitters have accrued only a combined .627 OPS.

Final Analysis and Pick

Besides the recent glittering pitching from both clubs, each team has been sound defensively. Houston has committed just 2 errors thru its last 7 games. Meanwhile, Los Angeles has gone errorless during 8 of their preceding 9 games.

Since coming over from Detroit at last season’s trade deadline, Justin Verlander has made 3 starts against the Angels. All 3 games went under the total, and Verlander’s 0.82 ERA were a major contributor to those low scoring affairs.

The Angels Garrett Richards will be making his first start of the season against Houston. He did face them twice last season and had an inspiring 0.82 ERA.

This AL West matchup on Wednesday night has the insignias of a low scoring game. My MLB pick will be symbolic of such.

Pick: Under 7.5

Ross Benjamin is a top sports analyst and one of the sports industry's most respected handicappers. Follow him on Twitter: @RossBenjamin1 or visit his website at RBWins.com