MLB Baseball
2026-06-04 - Pittsburgh Pirates at Houston Astros
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : Major League Baseball
Thursday 4th June 2026 - Scheduled 8:10pm EST
01:10am (British Time)
Preview
They may be seven games below 0.500, but the Houston Astros (28-35) remain just 5 games behind the American League West leaders and have had some positive news regarding a star player's return from injury. Jose Alutuve is not expected to be playing on Thursday, but he could be in the lineup this weekend, while the Houston Astros are in a position to win this inter-League series.
They levelled things up on Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates (33-29) who have a winning record, but who are also 5.5 games out of the lead in the National League Central. The Pirates had won four in a row before losing the second of this three game set, but they will need to be at their best to help a starting pitcher on his road back from a long injury.
Jared Jones had a decent rookie season, but missed the entirety of what would have been his sophomore year in the Major League through injury. He pitched just over 4 Innings in his first start of 2026, but Jones unsurprisingly had some struggles on the mound.
The starter did not factor into the decision thanks to the Pittsburgh batting lineup, but Jared Jones will be looking for an improvement in his second outing of 2026. He allowed five runs in his time on the mount against the Minnesota Twins, but Jared Jones did Strikeout six batters.
Jared Jones has never faced the Houston Astros before, but that outing against the Twins means he is 1-2 with a 5.12 ERA in his previous inter-League starts.
Houston will counter by giving the ball to Kai-Wei Teng who has a 3-3 record and 2.57 ERA in eighteen appearances this season, although only five have been in starts. There is limited experience in the Major Leagues before Teng found his way to Houston, but he has had more appearances in 2026 compared with his two years with the San Francisco Giants.
This is going to be the fifth start in a row for Kai-Wei Teng and he has a 2-1 record and 2.84 ERA in the previous four. He did allow three runs in 5 Innings thrown last time out, but did not factor into the decision and Kai-Wei Teng has a 1-1 record and 3.33 ERA in ten previous inter-League outings, although three have been in starts.
These teams are meeting for the seventh time since the start of the 2025 season and Houston and Pittsburgh have split the last six with three wins apiece.
Prediction
Both of these teams remain in early contention in their respective Divisions in the American and National League.
The first two games have been split, but the Houston Astros may have a narrow edge on the mound and that can help them back up the win on Wednesday by securing the series win.
The Pick :
Houston Astros 5-4 Pittsburgh Pirates
