Cincinnati Reds vs Houston Astros

Cincinnati ends a seven-game road trip on a 4-8 slide. Chase Petty got rocked in his only outing, losing 9-1 to St. Louis allowing nine runs in 2+ innings. They're 2-4 on this road trip. Houston has won two of three scoring 21 runs. Ronel Blanco has been very good at home with a 3.74 ERA while holding batters to a .173 average. Last season, Blanco had a 3.19 ERA at home holding batters to a .186 average. The Astros' relief staff is fourth in the majors with a 2.96 ERA, so back home field. Play Houston. 

Houston goes for its third straight win while the Reds have lost six of seven, including 3-0 to the Astros last night when Hunter Brown shut out Cincinnati over 5 2/3 innings while striking out nine. The Astros have won six of seven home games, and eight of the past 11 meetings with the Reds have gone UNDER. Cincinnati has gone UNDER five of six overall and six of seven on the road. The Reds have lost three of Brady Singer's past four starts, and he allowed four runs on seven hits in six innings in his last outing on Monday against Atlanta. The UNDER is 7-0 in Lance McCullers Jr.'s past seven home starts, and the UNDER is 7-1 in Houston's past eight games after allowing two or fewer runs in its previous game. The Astros have won six of seven home games versus right-handed starters. Take the Astros and the UNDER.

The Houston Astros don't have the pop up and down their line up as we have seen in recent years. The pitching remains solid. The Reds have really taken a dive recently. Cincinnati is just 1-5 in their last six games. The offense which has been good has stumbled having scored just 10 total runs in their last five games. Houston isn't doing much better as the Astros have scored 22 total runs in their last 11 losses. I see a lot of tendencies that also point to a low scoring game. Make the play UNDER the total.

The Houston Astros have opened a 5.5 game lead on Seattle, but didn't serve their cause well last night as they lost to the Reds 12-5. That is two straight losses in this series, and they will try and avoid the sweep this afternoon. The Reds have something going as they have won three in a row. The Astros have not had a lot of success in Hunter Brown's 26 decisions on the season where they are 13-13. The road has been challenging all season for Houston, as they come into this game with a less than .500 record on the road. The Reds are playing with confidence now. Make the play on Cincinnati.

Houston is on a 19-10-1 run UNDER the total. The defense is ninth in fielding percentage while the pitching is fifth in ERA (3.71). Spencer Arrighetti hasn't allowed a run in his last two starts, both on the road, in 13+ innings. Cincinnati's offense is 15th in runs scored, 19th in on-base percentage, and 16th in slugging. Nick Martinez (3.78 ERA) rarely walks anyone (14 walks in 109+ innings) and the bullpen is 14th in ERA and 13th in WHIP. Take Houston/Cincinnati UNDER the total.