Rockies vs. Astros prediction: MLB Thursday odds, picks, bets

High altitude, low results. That’s been Colorado Rockies baseball for the last seven seasons and through the first 18 games of this one. The Rockies struck out 10 times against Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti in Wednesday’s 3-1 loss to extend their six-game slide.They’ll look to avoid getting swept for the second time this season when Juan Mejia (0-2, 5.40 ERA) pays greetings to Houston’s Ryan Weiss (0-2, 7.36 ERA) on Thursday evening.It’s been only a couple of weeks since the Rockies swept the Astros to improve to .500 for the first time since 2022. Colorado is +145 on the moneyline at bet365 Sportsbook to snap the losing streak, which presents an excellent value opportunity. This is Mejia’s first career start as Rockies’ skipper, Warren Schaeffer turns to his bullpen. The 25-year-old right-hander was one of the only positives that came out of the historically poor 2025 campaign.In his rookie campaign, he showcased strong swing-and-miss potential and was extremely efficient at capping power, finishing in baseball’s top one percent in exit velocity. Although Mejia has been most useful in short bursts, he deals some electric stuff, averaging 97.6 mph on his fastball so far this season. He’s had six previous appearances against the Astros, where he managed a 2.70 ERA and four strikeouts through 6 ⅔ innings.

Two of those appearances were this year, where he’s kept them scoreless through 2 ⅔ innings. You wouldn’t believe it, but behind Mejia, the Rockies bullpen has been sharp.It ranks ninth in bullpen ERA, with arms like Jimmy Herget, Brennan Bernardino, Jaden Hill, and Antonio Senzatela sitting at 2.00 or better.   This Astros lineup faces them without the sheer power Daikin Park has been used to in the recent era: Houston hangs around the MLB average in exit velocity and below average in hard-hit rate, per Statcast. The Astros lean heavily on walks and clutch moments, and that could pay dividends for a Colorado staff that tends ...