MLB wagering interest swings to the Pittsburgh vs Houston battle on Sunday at PNC Park as the Pirates try to defend home turf and reward moneyline bettors.

It's a pitching duel between AJ Burnett for the Pirates (1-2 on the year) and Wandy Rodriguez for Houston (3-3 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 -105 on most baseball betting menus for Monday's contest.

Power Rankings:
This game matches up the No. 14 (Pirates) and the No. 3 (Astros) teams in their respective leagues, according to our current MLB Power Rankings.



How They Match Up:
Rating these teams in several key categories is important for handicappers and Pittsburgh has the National League's No. 16-rated offensive output, at 7.2 hits per game. The Astros average 8.6 hits per game, good for No. 7 on the National League list.

Comparing defensive stats, Houston owns the National League's No. 11-rated road mark, allowing 4.6 runs per game on the highway. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, rates No. 16 in scoring at home.

In their last action, Houston was a 5-2 loser on the road against the Pirates. Bettors on Pittsburgh at -136 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (7) sent UNDER bettors home happy as well. Houston looks to rebound from a loss to the Pirates, who beat them 5-2 on Saturday behind a start from Charlie Morton at PNC Park.




Houston Astros Trends:
When playing on Sunday are 5-5
Before playing Philadelphia are 6-4
After playing Pittsburgh are 4-6
After a loss are 6-4

Pittsburgh Pirates Trends:
When playing on Sunday are 2-8
Before playing Miami are 3-7
After playing Houston are 4-6
After a win are 1-9

A few Astros at Pirates trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Houston's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Houston's last 6 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Houston's last 5 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Houston's last 9 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 6 games when playing Houston
The total has gone UNDER in 17 of Pittsburgh's last 21 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games when playing at home against Houston
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Pittsburgh's last 8 games


Next up:
Houston at Philadelphia, Monday, May 14
Pittsburgh at Miami, Monday, May 14