Houston travels to Pittsburgh for inter-league play on Friday, hoping to secure a victory over the Pirates.

Jeanmar Gomez will take the mound for Pittsburgh, and he'll carry a 1-0 record into the contest. Jordan Lyles gets the ball for Houston; he's 1-1 so far this season.



View Houston vs Pittsburgh Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Those who planned on backing the visitors in this one found the Astros listed as underdogs of +-192 at most sportsbooks, including Sportsbook. Total bettors saw the number open in the area of 8, check for updates at Sportsbook.

Power Rankings:
It's a baseball betting matchup between the National League No. 5-rated Pirates and the league No. 14-ranked Astros, according to the latest MLB power poll here at Odds Shark.



How They Match Up:
Rating these teams in several key categories is important for handicappers and Pittsburgh has the National League's No. 9-rated offensive output, at 8.1 hits per game. The Astros average 8.3 hits per game, good for No. 11 on the American League list.

Comparing defensive stats, Houston owns the American League's No. 15-rated road mark, allowing 5.5 runs per game on the highway. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, rates No. 9 in scoring at home.

In their last action, Houston was a 7-5 Sportsbook on the road against the Tigers. Bettors on Houston at +325 on the moneyline collected their winnings from that game, while the total score (12) sent OVER bettors home happy as well. The Astros enjoyed a 7-5 victory at the expense of the Tigers on Wednesday, with Dallas Keuchel throwing 5 2/3 innings of 7-hit ball at Comerica Park.

Pittsburgh won its last outing, a 7-1 result against the Brewers on May 16. Bettors who backed the Pirates at -151 on the moneyline won on the day, and the total score (8) sent UNDER bettors to the payout window. The Pirates grabbed a win last time out, defeating Hiram Burgos and the Brewers 7-1 on Thursday at PNC Park.


Houston Astros Trends:
When playing on Friday are 3-7
Before playing Pittsburgh are 3-7
After playing Detroit are 4-6
After a win are 4-6

Pittsburgh Pirates Trends:
When playing on Friday are 8-2
Before playing Houston are 5-5
After playing Milwaukee are 5-5
After a win are 6-4

A few Astros at Pirates trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston's last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Houston's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Houston's last 7 games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
Houston is 4-12 SU in its last 16 games when playing Pittsburgh
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Pittsburgh's last 5 games at home
Pittsburgh is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against Houston
Pittsburgh is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games


Next up:
Houston at Pittsburgh, Saturday, May 18