The Chicago Cubs and the Houston Astros meet in an interleague matchup in MLB action from Minute Maid Park on Wednesday. Let’s dive into the odds, starting pitching matchup, history and make a prediction for this game.

Odds

Houston is a -150 home favorite while Chicago is a +130 road underdog. The total for this game is set at 8.5 runs.

Starting Pitching Matchup

Drew Smyly will start here and is 4-1 with a 3.05 ERA and 38 strikeouts this season. J.P. France will start for Houston and is 1-0 with a 0.77 ERA and 8 strikeouts this season.

Matchup History

Houston’s 7-3 win on Tuesday made it back-to-back wins in this head-to-head matchup over the Cubs.

Trends

Chicago is 35-17 in their last 52 games against the AL West and 1-5 in their last 6 games following a loss while the over is 5-0 in their last 5 games against a team with a winning record. Houston is 6-1 in their last 7 games overall and 4-1 in their last 5 games against the NL Central while the under is 4-0-1 in their last 5 Wednesday games.

Pick

I’m backing the Astros here. I like Drew Smyly and think he should be given credit for how well he’s pitched for the Cubs so far, but the Astros are starting to find their groove and have something special here with J.P. France. All in all, I think this ends up being a low-scoring game, but one that goes the way of the Astros here.