Lance McCullers Jr. pitches for Houston as Astros take on defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Houston Astros (52-35) visit the LA Dodgers (56-32) Friday in the first game of a 3-game series. First pitch from Dodger Stadium is at 9:10 p.m. ET. Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's MLB odds around the Astros vs. Dodgers odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.

Major League Baseball doesn't have a mercy rule. However, that's probably something that Dave Roberts, Noah Davis and the Los Angeles Dodgers were wishing was i

Thairo Estrada homered, singled twice and drove in four runs and the Colorado Rockies held on to beat the Houston Astros 7-6 in Denver on Thursday.

Thairo Estrada hit a two-run homer in the first inning and drove in four runs to help the Colorado Rockies beat the Houston Astros 7-6 on Thursday

The Rockies flipped the script. Thursday afternoon’s game was the kind they have lost so many times this year. And last year. And the year before that. But they got the key hits in the key moments — especially from second baseman Thairo Estrada — and beat Houston,