Houston will try to be nasty hosts on Thursday when the St. Louis Cardinals pay a visit to Minute Maid Park.

Nelson Figueroa will take the mound for Houston, and he'll carry a 0-3 record into the contest. Kyle McClellan gets the ball for St. Louis; he's 2-0 so far this season.



View St Louis vs Houston Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Houston opened as +135 moneyline underdogs in this baseball match, based on the starting pitcher matchup. That pairing made odds makers settle on an Sportsbook over under number of 8.5.

Power Rankings:
It's a baseball betting matchup between the National League No. 14-rated Astros and the league No. 2-ranked Cardinals, according to the latest MLB power poll here at Odds Shark.



How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Houston's No. 7 ranked National League offense (4.5 runs per game) against a Cardinals defense and pitching staff that sits at No. 5 in the National League at 3.9 runs allowed per game. The Astros have been averaging 9.5 hits per game, less than the Cardinals have managed so far this season (10.4 hits on average).

Comparing defensive stats, St. Louis owns the National League's No. 8-rated road mark, allowing 4.2 runs per game on the highway. Houston, on the other hand, rates No. 4 in scoring at home.

Last time out for St. Louis, they were a 6-5 Sportsbook as they battled the Astros on the road. Moneyline bettors who got the Cardinals at -133 were rewarded, while the 11 combined runs moved the game OVER for totals bettors. The Cardinals grabbed a win last time out, defeating J.A. Happ and the Astros 6-5 on Wednesday at Minute Maid Park.




St. Louis Cardinals Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 6-4
Before playing Atlanta are 5-5
After playing Houston are 6-4
After a win are 6-4

Houston Astros Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 5-5
Before playing Milwaukee are 5-5
After playing St. Louis are 5-5
After a loss are 8-2

A few Cardinals at Astros trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 7 of St. Louis' last 8 games on the road
St. Louis is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 10 of St. Louis' last 14 games
St. Louis is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston's last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Houston's last 5 games at home
Houston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing St. Louis
Houston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against St. Louis


Next up:
St. Louis at Atlanta, Friday, April 29
Houston home to Milwaukee, Friday, April 29