Cubs-Astros Preview

The division rival Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros are set to renew hostilities on Friday when they meet at Minute Maid Park. Ted Lilly will be the starting pitcher for the Cubs on this day. Lefthander Lilly is 9-6 this season with a 4.68 ERA. Lilly's opponent in this one will be Brian Moehler. The Astros righthander has a 3.97 ERA to go along with a 5-4 record this season. NewBodgo oddsmakers currently have the Cubs listed as 125-moneyline favorites versus the Astros, while the game's total has not yet been posted. The Cubs lost to San Francisco 4-2 as a -135 favorite on Sunday. The six runs scored fell UNDER the posted over/under total (9). Jim Edmonds had an RBI for the Cubs and Ryan Dempster took the loss after allowing four runs in six 2-3 innings. The Astros defeated Washington 5-0 as a -105 favorite on Sunday. The five runs scored fell UNDER the posted over/under total (8.5). Brandon Backe pitched seven shutout innings for the Astros, while Carlos Lee had three RBI in the win. Current streak: Houston has won 2 straight games. Team records: Chicago: 57-38 SU Houston: 44-51 SU Chicago most recently: When playing on Friday are 6-4 Before playing Houston are 7-3 After playing San Francisco are 6-4 After a loss are 7-3 Houston most recently: When playing on Friday are 4-6 Before playing Chi Cubs are 4-6 After playing Washington are 6-4 After a win are 4-6 A few trends to consider: The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Chi Cubs's last 5 games when playing on the road against Houston The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Chi Cubs's last 9 games when playing Houston Chi Cubs are 5-2 SU in their last 7 games The total has gone OVER in 8 of Chi Cubs's last 12 games on the road The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Houston's last 5 games when playing at home against Chi Cubs The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Houston's last 9 games when playing Chi Cubs The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Houston's last 5 games at home The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston's last 7 games Next up: Houston home to Chi Cubs, Saturday, July 19