The visiting Cardinals hope for a solid performance on Thursday as they look to steal a win at Minute Maid Park against the Houston Astros.

Lance Lynn, with a record of 0-1 on the season, gets the ball for the Cardinals, while the Astros trot JA Happ to the mound in this one. He is 3-7 so far in 2011.



View St Louis vs Houston Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
The visitors opened as 105 moneyline favorites in this one at most online sportsbooks tracked at Odds Shark. The total opened at 8.5 for those preferring over under wagers.

Power Rankings:
This game matches up the No. 16 (Astros) and the No. 4 (Cardinals) teams in their respective leagues, according to our current MLB Power Rankings.



How They Match Up:
At the plate, Houston owns the No. 4 ranking for hits in the National League at 9 per game. By contrast, the Cardinals are rated No. 1 in the same category at 9.5 per game.

Houston owns the National League's No. 15 defense, allowing 5 men per game to cross the plate. That contrasts with St. Louis' National League No. 11-rated defense.

St. Louis lost its last outing, a 4-1 result against the Astros on June 8. Bettors who backed the Astros at +121 on the moneyline won on the day, and the total score (5) sent UNDER bettors to the payout window. St. Louis suffered a 4-1 loss against Houston on Wednesday, as Jaime Garcia wasn't able to lead his team to victory at Minute Maid Park.




St. Louis Cardinals Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 8-2
Before playing Milwaukee are 5-5
After playing Houston are 6-4
After a loss are 7-3

Houston Astros Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 6-4
Before playing Atlanta are 2-8
After playing St. Louis are 4-6
After a win are 4-6

A few Cardinals at Astros trends to consider:
St. Louis is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Houston
St. Louis is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of St. Louis' last 5 games when playing on the road against Houston
St. Louis is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Houston's last 5 games when playing at home against St. Louis
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Houston's last 11 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Houston's last 6 games
Houston is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games


Next up:
St. Louis at Milwaukee, Friday, June 10
Houston home to Atlanta, Friday, June 10