Pittsburgh will try to be nasty hosts on Monday when the Houston Astros pay a visit to PNC Park.

It's a pitching duel between James McDonald for the Pirates (7-3 on the year) and Jordan Lyles for Houston (2-4 so far).



View Houston vs Pittsburgh Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
If you're going with the Pirates in this one, they're listed as moneyline favorites of -175 on most baseball betting menus for Monday's contest.

Power Rankings:
This game matches up the No. 12 (Pirates) and the No. 16 (Astros) teams in their respective leagues, according to our current MLB Power Rankings.



How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Pittsburgh's No. 13 ranked National League offense (3.8 runs per game) against a Astros defense and pitching staff that sits at No. 15 in the National League at 4.7 runs allowed per game. The Pirates have been averaging 7.8 hits per game, less than the Astros have managed so far this season (8.2 hits on average).

Comparing defensive stats, Houston owns the National League's No. 16-rated road mark, allowing 5.6 runs per game on the highway. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, rates No. 15 in scoring at home.

In their last action, Houston was a 3-0 loser on the road against the Cubs. Bettors on Chicago at -114 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (3) sent UNDER bettors home happy as well. Travis Wood shut down the Astros in their last game, striking out 4 in a 3-0 shutout over Houston in baseball action at Wrigley Field.

Pittsburgh was a 5-4 loser in its last match on the road against the Cardinals. They lost as +151 underdogs, while the total score of 9 made winners of UNDER bettors. The Pirates endured a 5-4 loss at the hands of the Cardinals on Sunday, with Erik Bedard throwing 4 2/3 innings of 8-hit ball at Busch Stadium.


Houston Astros Trends:
When playing on Monday are 3-7
Before playing Pittsburgh are 6-4
After playing Chi Cubs are 7-3
After a loss are 3-7

Pittsburgh Pirates Trends:
When playing on Monday are 3-7
Before playing Houston are 2-8
After playing St. Louis are 5-5
After a loss are 5-5

A few Astros at Pirates trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Houston's last 7 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Houston's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Houston's last 6 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Houston's last 16 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Pittsburgh's last 7 games when playing Houston
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 6 games when playing at home against Houston
Pittsburgh is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Pittsburgh is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games at home


Next up:
Houston at Pittsburgh, Tuesday, July 3