Cardinals-Astros Lines Preview

The St. Louis Cardinals and the Houston Astros will meet on the field at Minute Maid Park on Wednesday in a battle of division rivals. The Cardinals will pin their hopes on the pitching of righthander Chris Carpenter in this game. Carpenter has a 8-3 record and a 2.26 ERA this season. It'll be ace Roy Oswalt toeing the rubber for the Astros in this contest. Righthander Oswalt is 6-4 with a 3.65 ERA so far this season. Oddsmakers currently have the Cardinals listed as 120-moneyline favorites versus the Astros, while the game's total has not yet been posted. Carlos Lee smacked a grand slam to lead the Astros past the Cardinals 11-6 on Tuesday night. Houston cashed as -160 home favorites as the teams played OVER the 8.5-run total listed by oddsmakers. Miguel Tejada went 2-for-3 with three runs batted in for the Astros, while Wandy Rodriguez allowed only one run over seven innings to get the win for Houston. Ryan Ludwick was 2-for-4 with a three-run jack for St. Louis, as Todd Wellemeyer gave up four earned runs over 4 1-3 innings to take the loss for the Cardinals. Current streak: St. Louis has lost 2 straight games. Houston has won 2 straight games. Team records: St. Louis: 51-45 SU Houston: 48-46 SU St. Louis most recently: When playing on Wednesday are 5-5 Before playing Philadelphia are 3-7 After playing Houston are 6-4 After a loss are 6-4 Houston most recently: When playing on Wednesday are 5-5 Before playing NY Mets are 4-6 After playing St. Louis are 5-5 After a win are 6-4 A few trends to consider: St. Louis is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road St. Louis is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Houston Houston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against St. Louis Houston is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home Houston is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games Next up: St. Louis at Philadelphia, Friday, July 24 Houston home to NY Mets, Friday, July 24