Miami at Houston

Houston snapped a four-game skid emphatically last night, an 8-5 win over this same Miami club built on a grand slam from Jeremy Pena and a pair of solo shots from Yordan Alvarez, his fifth multi-homer game of the season. That loss dropped the Marlins to seven straight, and Miami is dealing with real damage behind the scenes: ace Max Meyer landed on the injured list with a neck strain, and All-Star shortstop Otto Lopez has now sat out back-to-back games. Tatsuya Imai has been the shaky link for Houston all year, with a 6.06 ERA in his first MLB season after making the jump from Japan, and that's the real risk in taking Houston here. Tyler Phillips has actually been the more reliable arm in this series, sitting on a 3.48 ERA for Miami. But a rotation gap matters less when the team in front of it just put up eight runs and got two mashers going, and a lineup missing its shortstop and its best starting pitcher is not the same team that built a good record earlier this year. Houston has the game's two hottest bats and the healthier roster right now. Houston is the bet tonight.