Houston Astros vs. Miami Marlins: Odds, Preview, & Prediction | Friday, June 10th

Houston Astros vs. Miami Marlins Preview: Great pitching matchup in Houston tonight

The Miami Marlins come into this series with the Houston Astros on a three-game winning streak. The Astros have run into some uncharacteristic struggles, especially scoring runs efficiently. Tonight, there will be a great pitching matchup between the Astros' Luis Garcia and the Marlins' Pablo Lopez.

Houston has a great home record this season at 15-8 and Miami has struggled on the road with a 10-16 record. Both of these teams rank in the middle of the pack in runs per game, so we're expecting runs to come at a premium tonight.

Houston Astros Preview:

"The future is looking bright in Houston" - Houston Astros

The Houston Astros have jumped out to a 36-21 record so far this season. No one expected a huge dropoff from Houston, but they are dominating their division, which they lead by nine games at the moment. Houston's 3.01 team ERA ranks third in the MLB, and their bullpen has been the best in the league.

Luis Garcia will get the start for the Houston Astros tonight. Garcia has been extremely consistent to this point, with a 3.07 ERA in 10 starts. He has allowed three runs or less in all of his starts since May 1, so he has proven he has the stuff to miss bats. Garcia is up against a Marlins team that has a tendency to strike out a good amount.

Offensively, the Astros haven't performed as well as many expected. With big names in the lineup like Jose Altuve, Michael Brantley, Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, and Yordan Alvarez, the Houston Astros' .235 team average is not up to par with the talent they have. The key to victory in this game is to find ways to produce runs early and get into the Miami bullpen.

Miami Marlins Preview:

"Sweet sweep." - Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins are coming off a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals. Tonight, they will take on a tougher opponent in the Astros and have their work cut out for them. Miami will give Pablo Lopez the start tonight, and he has been their most effective pitcher. Lopez has a 4-2 record with an ERA of 2.18, which is among some of the best in the MLB.

The Marlins offense is led by Jazz Chisholm and Garrett Cooper, and they rank 12th in the league with a team average of .247. Although they have put up some good numbers, they face a very good pitcher tonight. The key to victory is a little different for Miami. They will need to keep this game low-scoring in order to win.

Pick/Prediction: First 5 Under 4 (-115)

The pitching matchup between Luis Garcia and Pablo Lopez is a great one, and we're expecting them to keep the score low for the first half of the game. Look for Lopez and Garcia to force a lot of weak contact throughout the night and keep the opposing team's runs to a minimum.