There’s an AL West battle in the late window that usually might not hold all that much appeal. However, the Houston Astros are quietly creeping up on the .500 mark and get another date with the Los Angeles Angels tonight out in Anaheim. After winning last night’s outing 5-4 in extra innings, will the visitors tack on another one here on Tuesday?

Here’s a betting prediction and pick for tonight’s Astros vs. Angels matchup courtesy of MLB odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Astros vs. Angels prediction, preview

Houston Astros

Don’t look now, but the Astros actually have some momentum building in their favor lately. They’re only 4-3 in June so far and 31-37 overall, but there’s an argument for this team making a push for the .500 mark in a weak division. They have an overall run differential of -28 thanks to a terrible stretch from the pitching staff and some injuries, but average 4.59 runs per game and maintain an above-average offense. The team’s slash line comes in at .246/.321/.412 with an OPS of .733, good for seventh in baseball. An 0.41 BB/K rate is on the lower end of average as the team’s BB% has dipped to just 8.9%, but there are positives elsewhere. The Astros have a .167 ISO and 86 home runs, a tally that ranks fourth best in the sport. Pitching has been the big problem throughout the year with an overall ERA of 4.89 with a 1.43 WHIP and 9.6% K-BB%, however, there’s been slight improvement on that end. Over the last month, those marks sit at 3.94 and 1.22 instead. That goes for the bullpen too, which has a 2.92 ERA and 1.04 WHIP over the same sample.

RHP Kai-Wei Teng sees his seventh start and 20th appearance of the year tonight. He’s just 3-4 but has a 3.06 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 44 strikeouts in 48.0 IP. He primarily uses a lethal sweeper and has been above-average at keeping barrel rate down with a .230 xBA as well.

Los Angeles Angels

Meanwhile, the Angels remain the worst team not only in the AL West, but in all of the American League. At 25-42, they’re just one game shy of the worst record in the MLB at that, so it’s largely been a campaign to forget for the Halos. They have a run differential of -52 while averaging 4.40 runs per contest, slashing .233/.315/.387 as a team. The OPS of .701 is good for 18th and a .154 ISO is a respectable mark, as are the 77 homers that rank ninth among all clubs. However, productive the offense may be like this, pacing the sport with a 25.0% K% is hardly an achievement to be proud of. Beyond that, an 0.36 BB/K ratio doesn’t make up for the high strikeouts. On the mound, the Angels have a staff ERA of 4.82 with a 1.46 WHIP and 10.2% K-BB%. The bullpen is just as bad, pitching to the tune of a 4.90 ERA and 1.51 WHIP as well. The difference between them and Houston is that there hasn’t been a notable change in the numbers as of late for Los Angeles.

Rookie RHP Walbert Urena will throw his 10th start and 12th appearance tonight with a 3-4 record so far. He has been one of few bright spots to this point, recording a 2.68 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 48 punchouts across 50.1 IP. He brings excellent fastball velocity and forces lots of ground balls, though his control could certainly use work with a 12.8% BB%.

Astros vs. Angels pick, best bet

DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Astros as -125 Moneyline favorites on the road tonight. The Angels come in with +104 odds to win outright at home. The total sits at 8.5 combined runs between these two teams.

Best Bet: Under 4.5 runs first five innings (+100)

Neither starting pitcher is a household name, but both have put forth quality seasons in terms of run suppression. What’s interesting for this total over the first five innings is that neither one of these hurlers allowed more than six earned runs across all of May, bringing WHIPs of 1.16 for Teng and 1.09 for Urena over that sample. They both come off a rougher outing in their most recent starts, but overall, they’ve looked quite good this season in the big picture. The Houston offense could prove problematic for this under, but the performance of both these guys makes me feel pretty good about four or fewer runs being scored in the first five frames.