Courtesy of OddsShark.com:

If familiarity breeds contempt, there should be animosity aplenty on Thursday when the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Houston Astros meet at Minute Maid Park.

The Pirates will pin their hopes on the pitching of righthander Ross Ohlendorf in this game. Ohlendorf has a 1-6 record and a 4.39 ERA this season.

The Astros will counter Ohlendorf with ace Roy Oswalt. Righthander Oswalt has a 3.32 ERA to go along with a 5-10 record this season.

Oddsmakers currently have the Astros listed as 210-moneyline favorites versus the Pirates, while the game’s total has not yet been posted.

Carlos Lee went deep for a two-run shot Wednesday, as the Astros doubled the Pirates 6-3. The Astros won that game as -130 favorites, while the nine runs went as a PUSH against the posted over/under (9) set by sportsbooks.

Casey Daigle collected the win in relief for the Astros, and Matt Lindstrom closed out the game for his 20^th save.

Daniel McCutchen allowed four hits and four runs over five innings in the loss.

Current streak:
Pittsburgh has lost 2 straight games.
Houston has won 2 straight games.

Team records:
Pittsburgh: 30-54 SU
Houston: 34-51 SU

Pittsburgh most recently:
When playing on Thursday are 2-8
Before playing Milwaukee are 4-6
After playing Houston are 2-8
After a loss are 4-6

Houston most recently:
When playing on Thursday are 5-5
Before playing St. Louis are 3-7
After playing Pittsburgh are 6-4
After a win are 5-5

A few trends to consider:
Pittsburgh is 7-18 SU in its last 25 games
Pittsburgh is 2-20 SU in its last 22 games on the road
Pittsburgh is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing Houston
Pittsburgh is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Houston
Houston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Pittsburgh
Houston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh
Houston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home

Next up:
Pittsburgh at Milwaukee, Friday, July 9
Houston home to St. Louis, Friday, July 9

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