Houston will try to be nasty hosts on Thursday when the Milwaukee Brewers pay a visit to Minute Maid Park.

JA Happ will take the mound for Houston, and he'll carry a 2-3 record into the contest. Shaun Marcum gets the ball for Milwaukee; he's 2-1 so far this season.



View Milwaukee vs Houston Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Bettors looking to side with the Astros in this one will find them as +136 underdogs on the MLB money line. Betting the over under instead? It was hovering near 7.5 at its open earlier today.

Power Rankings:
The Odds Shark MLB Power Rankings have the Astros at No. 8 in the National League and the Brewers at No. 12 in the National League heading into this contest.



How They Match Up:
Rating these teams in several key categories is important for handicappers and Houston has the National League's No. 5-rated offensive output, at 8.5 hits per game. The Brewers average 7.8 hits per game, good for No. 14 on the National League list.

Houston owns the National League's No. 10 defense, allowing 4 men per game to cross the plate. That contrasts with Milwaukee's National League No. 15-rated defense.

Last time out for Milwaukee, they were an 8-3 loser as they battled the Astros on the road. Moneyline bettors who got the Astros at -115 were rewarded, while the 11 combined runs moved the game OVER for totals bettors. Milwaukee didn't get the job done in their last match, falling 8-3 to Houston on Wednesday at Minute Maid Park.




Milwaukee Brewers Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 6-4
Before playing Minnesota are 6-4
After playing Houston are 8-2
After a loss are 5-5

Houston Astros Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 4-6
Before playing Texas are 2-8
After playing Milwaukee are 4-6
After a win are 5-5

A few Brewers at Astros trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Milwaukee's last 11 games when playing Houston
Milwaukee is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Houston
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Milwaukee's last 7 games when playing on the road against Houston
Milwaukee is 11-2 SU in its last 13 games when playing Houston
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Houston's last 11 games when playing Milwaukee
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Houston's last 7 games when playing at home against Milwaukee
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Houston's last 9 games
Houston is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games at home


Next up:
Milwaukee home to Minnesota, Friday, May 18
Houston home to Texas, Friday, May 18