Houston travels to Toronto for inter-league play on Saturday, hoping to secure a victory over the Blue Jays.

Brett Myers, with a record of 1-3 on the season, gets the ball for the Astros, while the Blue Jays trot Brandon Morrow to the mound in this one. He is 2-2 so far in 2011.



View Houston vs Toronto Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Baseball odds makers opened the Blue Jays as -215 moneyline favorites in this matchup. Over under bettors saw the number open at 7.5.

Power Rankings:
This game puts the Blue Jays, most recently No. 1 in the American League Odds Shark MLB Power Rankings, up against the Astros, who rate a National League No. 15 in the latest survey.



How They Match Up:
Scoring stats point to some edges in this matchup. The game features Toronto's American League No. 5-ranked scoring average of 4.5 runs per game, against a Astros offense rated No. 9 and scoring 4 runs per game in the league. The Blue Jays have averaged 8.8 hits per game to date this season, almost the same as the Astros hitters have managed (8.8 per nine innings).

Pitching and defensive stats are important baseball handicapping factors and Toronto has the American League's No. 9-ranked defense. In the other dugout, the Astros own the National League's No. 16 mark in runs allowed.

Houston was a 5-2 Sportsbook in its last match on the road against the Blue Jays. They won as +167 underdogs, while the total score of 7 made Sportsbooks of UNDER bettors. The Astros enjoyed a 5-2 victory at the expense of the Blue Jays on Friday, with Aneury Rodriguez throwing 5 1/3 innings of 8-hit ball at Rogers Centre.




Houston Astros Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 6-4
Before playing Toronto are 3-1
After playing Toronto are 2-1
After a win are 3-7

Toronto Blue Jays Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 4-6
Before playing Houston are 1-3
After playing Houston are 1-2
After a loss are 6-4

A few Astros at Blue Jays 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 5 games on the road
Houston is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games
Houston is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games on the road
Toronto is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Toronto's last 6 games at home


Next up:
Houston at Toronto, Sunday, May 22