Astros-Reds Preview

If familiarity breeds contempt, there should be animosity aplenty on Friday when the Houston Astros and the Cincinnati Reds meet at Great American Ball Park. The Astros will give the ball to starter Randy Wolf in this one. Lefthander Wolf is 7-10 this season with a 4.61 ERA. Wolf's opponent in this one will be Johnny Cueto. The Reds righthander has a 5.00 ERA to go along with a 7-11 record this season. NewBodog oddsmakers currently have the Reds listed as 135-moneyline favorites versus the Astros, while the game's total has not yet been posted. The Astros took the opener of a four-game series with a 7-4 win over the Reds on Thursday, as -145 favorites. The 11 runs made it OVER the posted over/under (9.5). Hunter Pence cracked a three-run homer to lead the way, and Carlos Lee went 3-for-3 with two RBIs for the Astros. Roy Oswalt tossed seven innings for the win, allowing one run off nine hits. Edwin Encarnacion went deep for a two-run homer for the Reds, who were +135 underdogs in that game. Josh Fogg gave up six runs from eight hits over four innings to suffer the loss. Current streak: Cincinnati has lost 3 straight games. Team records: Houston: 55-59 SU Cincinnati: 52-64 SU Houston most recently: When playing on Friday are 4-6 Before playing Cincinnati are 7-3 After playing Cincinnati are 7-3 After a win are 6-4 Cincinnati most recently: When playing on Friday are 4-6 Before playing Houston are 2-8 After playing Houston are 2-8 After a loss are 2-8 A few trends to consider: Houston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Cincinnati Houston is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games when playing Cincinnati Houston is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games Houston is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games on the road Cincinnati is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games at home Cincinnati is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games Cincinnati is 1-9 SU in its last 10 games when playing Houston Cincinnati is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Houston Next up: Cincinnati home to Houston, Saturday, August 9