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Former NL West rivals meet again when the first-place Padres and the Astros play a three-game interleague series in Houston starting Friday night. Lefty Framber Valdez, so good in the playoffs last year, is slated to make his season debut for the Astros here against Dinelson Lamet for San Diego. Here's how we homeworked this game for our free <a href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/free-mlb-picks&quot; title="Free MLB Picks">MLB betting pick</a>.
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MLB Betting Odds<br />
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Friday's <a href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/odds&quot; title="Compare MLB Odds">baseball betting odds</a> opened this game at right around a pick 'em, with an over/under of 8.5 runs. Early betting action then shot the Astros into -115 favorites.
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Padres-Astros MLB Betting Preview<br />
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San Diego just split four games in Milwaukee, losing Thursday's series finale 6-5 in 10 innings. But prior to that stop, the Padres swept three games from Seattle, Colorado, and St. Louis. Going back just a bit further, San Diego is 14-3 over its last 17 games.
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At 32-19 overall, the Padres are playing ahead of pace against their wins over/under for this season of 94.5. Houston, meanwhile, just split two games at home with the Dodgers, losing Tuesday 9-2 but winning Wednesday 5-2. The Astros then had Thursday off. Last weekend Houston got swept three games at Texas. So the Astros are 1-4 over their last five games. At 27-22 overall, Houston is playing just ahead of pace as it chases its season win O/U of 87.5. This is the first meeting between these two teams this season. Last season San Diego swept three games from the Astros out in SoCal.
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Friday's Pitching Match-Up<br />
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Lefty Valdez is making his first start of this season after breaking a finger on his throwing hand back in Spring Training. So he might find himself on a short leash Friday night. Last year Valdez hit 7/10 on quality starts and posted a 3.57 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. He then hit three/four on quality starts in the playoffs. On the whole, Houston played 10-4 when Valdez started last year. This will be Valdez's first-ever start against San Diego. Lamet is 0/3 on quality starts this year, operating as an "opener," along with a couple of relief appearances. Most recently, last Saturday, he gave up one run and two hits through three innings against Seattle. And over his last three outings, Lamet has allowed three runs – two earned – and five hits through seven innings of work, with three walks and eight strikeouts. The Padres are 1-2 when Lamet starts this season, but that's not his fault. This will be Lamet's first-ever action against Houston.
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Splits With the Sticks<br />
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San Diego is batting .231 against left-handed pitching this season, with a .325 team OBP and a .346 team slugging percentage.
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Houston is batting .256 against right-handed pitching, which ranks No. 1 in the Majors, with a .325 team OBP and a .415 team slugging percentage.
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<span style="font-size:16px;"><b><span style="color:#008000;">Get more details:</span></b> <a class="advblue" href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/matchup/1357721"&gt; 6/5/21 Matchup Stats</a></span>
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The Bullpens<br />
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The Padres bullpen owns a 2.52 ERA this season, which ranks No. 1 in the Bigs, a 1.09 WHIP, which ranks No. 2, and a 3.44 K/BB ratio, which ranks No. 1. So we rank this unit as the best bullpen in Baseball at the moment. The Astros pen owns a 4.23 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, and a 2.29 K/BB ratio.
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MLB Betting Trends<br />
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The Padres are 14-9 on the road this season. The Astros are 16-10 at home this season. The Padres are 8-3 against left-handed starters this season. The Astros are 15-10 against right-handed starters this season.
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Totals Report<br />
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Overs are 26-25 in Padres games this season. Overs are 30-17 in Astros games this season.
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