A key battle on the MLB odds menu sees visiting St. Louis duelling Houston on Thursday at Minute Maid Park.

Houston hands the ball to starter JA Happ in this one and he'll try to improve on his 4-5 mark on the year. St. Louis counters with Lance Lynn, who will try to quiet the fans and the Astros bats at the same time.



View St Louis vs Houston Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Bettors looking to side with the Astros in this one will find them as +145 underdogs on the MLB money line. Betting the over under instead? It was hovering near 8.5 at its open earlier today.

Power Rankings:
It's a baseball betting matchup between the National League No. 9-rated Astros and the league No. 3-ranked Cardinals, according to the latest MLB power poll here at Odds Shark.



How They Match Up:
The game also pits Houston's No. 7-rated National League offense, averaging 4.3 runs per game, against a Cardinals defense that ranks No. 9 in the National League at 4.2 in runs allowed per game. The Astros have averaged 8.8 hits per game so far, less than Cardinals batters have averaged on the year (9.6 hits per game).

Houston owns the National League's No. 13 defense, allowing 4.5 men per game to cross the plate. That contrasts with St. Louis' National League No. 9-rated defense.

The Cardinals were a 4-3 Sportsbook in their most recent outing on the road against the Astros. That made Sportsbooks of bettors who got St. Louis at -133 on the moneyline, while the total score (7) was good news for UNDER bettors. The Cardinals enjoyed a 4-3 victory at the expense of the Astros on Wednesday, with Adam Wainwright throwing 5 2/3 innings of 7-hit ball at Minute Maid Park.




St. Louis Cardinals Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 5-5
Before playing Cleveland are 3-7
After playing Houston are 6-4
After a win are 5-5

Houston Astros Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 3-7
Before playing Chi White Sox are 3-7
After playing St. Louis are 3-7
After a loss are 3-7

A few Cardinals at Astros trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 11 of St. Louis' last 14 games when playing on the road against Houston
The total has gone OVER in 7 of St. Louis' last 9 games when playing Houston
The total has gone OVER in 10 of St. Louis' last 14 games
The total has gone OVER in 7 of St. Louis' last 10 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Houston's last 14 games when playing at home against St. Louis
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Houston's last 9 games when playing St. Louis
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Houston's last 7 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Houston's last 9 games


Next up:
St. Louis home to Cleveland, Friday, June 8
Houston at Chi White Sox, Friday, June 8