The Houston Astros have begun to stumble, going just 4-6 in their last 10 games which has resulted in them being in the American League wild card picture by just 1.5 games.
Luckily for them, they have a great opportunity to right the ship this weekend when they take on the Detroit Tigers in a three game set.
Let's dive into the odds for Friday night's series opener and then I'll give you my best bet for the game.
Astros vs. Tigers odds, run line, and total
Astros vs. Tigers prediction and pick
The Astros will be rolling with their ace, Framber Valdez, in tonight's series opener and he'll face-off against Matt Manning of the Tigers.
Valdez has had a rough few outings lately, allowing 15 combined earned runs in his last three starts, but now is the time for him to bounce back in a big way. He'll be facing the Tigers for the second time this season. In his first start against them, he gave up just 2 earned runs in 7.0 innings pitched.
Meanwhile, regression should be coming for Manning of the Tigers. While his 4.31 ERA doesn't seem that bad, his 5.24 FIP (Field Independent Pitching) shows that he hasn't pitched as well as his other numbers might indicate.
Houston's record may not be anything to write home about over the past couple of weeks, but the Astros offense is still hot. Over the last 30 days, they rank 5th in all of baseball in OPS with a team mark of .812.
If their offense shows up today, I think they'll win this game in a landslide.
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
You can check out all of Iain's bets here!