GAME:  #977 Astros @ #978 D-Backs
DATE:    8/5/2020 – 9:10p EST
ODDS:   Astros -140 / D-Backs+130
O/U:   9.5

The Arizona Diamondbacks (3-7) will host the Houston Astros (5-4) in the 2nd game of their 3 game series at Chase Field on Wednesday night. Right-handed Lance Mccullers Jr. will start for the Astros and lefty Robbie Ray gets the start for the Diamondbacks. The Astros won the first game by a score of 8-2. 

WEATHER (baseball-weather.com)

Chase Field has a retractable roof and this game will be played with the roof closed. 

HOUSTON ASTROS

Lance McCullers Jr is on the mound for the Houston Astros. McCullers has a 1-0 record and an ERA of 5.40. McCullers gave up 4 runs and 4 walks in his last start. The Astros have hit Robbie Ray well in the past with a team batting average of .326 however Ray has made a lot of changes this off-season. 

ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Robbie Ray is on the mound for the Diamondbacks. Ray is not off to the best start but he had an amazing offseason and is expected to bounce back today. Ray has a 0-2 record and an ERA of 8.64. A few of the D-Backs have seen McCullers in 53 at-bats and have 14 hits for a .264 batting average. 

BATTER VS PITCHER  (dailybaseballdata.com)

STARTING LINEUPS (baseballpress.com)

Not available at this time.

INJURY REPORT (covers.com)

TRENDS (covers.com)

HOUSTON

• Over is 4-0-2 in Astros last 6 after allowing 2 runs or less in their previous game.
• Over is 3-0-1 in Astros last 4 interleague games as a favorite.
• Over is 4-0 in Astros last 4 interleague games vs. a left-handed starter.
• Over is 5-0 in Astros last 5 interleague games vs. a team with a losing record.
• Over is 4-0 in Astros last 4 games vs. a left-handed starter.

ARIZONA

• Under is 3-0-1 in Ray’s last 4 starts after allowing 5 runs or more in their previous game.
• Over is 3-0-1 in Diamondbacks last 4 Wednesday games.
• Over is 4-0 in Rays last 4 starts with 5 days of rest.
• Diamondbacks are 4-0 in Rays last 4 interleague starts.

HEAD TO HEAD

• Under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Arizona.
• Under is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings.

ASTROS vs DIAMONDBACKS PREDICTION

The D-Backs are off to a bad start this season but they have been playing some of the best teams in MLB with the Padres, Dodgers, & Astros. This is a good spot for the D-Backs who will be looking to capitalize after their poor performance in the last few nights. The Astros bullpen just got weaker losing their closer, Osuna. This line opened with Houston at -159 faves with the public pounding the Astros with Over 70% of the bet tickets but the line is moving in the wrong direction. The Sharps have also been hitting the D-Backs hard. The Bookie is rolling with all the signals and taking the value on the D-Backs for this one.

The Bookie:          D-Backs +130 Listed Pitcher Robbie Ray
Fade the Public: D-Backs
Sharp Action:    D-Backs

2 Units to win 2.6 Units on:  (#978) D-Backs +130 Listed Pitcher Robbie Ray