Mets vs. Astros prediction and odds for Monday, June 19 (Fade Max Scherzer)

The Houston Astros are 3-7 in their last 10 games and have all of a sudden fallen to third place in the AL West, behind both the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels.

On Monday night, they'll start an interleague series against another disappointing team, the New York Mets, who are sitting in fourth place in the NL West.

Max Scherzer (4.45 ERA) will get the start for New York. He'll take on Hunter Brown (3.35 ERA) of the Astros.

Let's dive into the odds for tonight's series opener.

Mets vs. Astros odds, run line, and total

Mets vs. Astros prediction and pick

It's time for us to accept that Max Scherzer isn't the same pitcher he used to be. He has allowed 11 earned runs in his last 9.0 innings pitched. Until he shows any level of consistency, I just can't bet on him.

That's especially the case in a situation like tonight where he's taking on a young and successful pitcher like Hunter Brown. He's also coming off one of the strongest performance of his season, pitching seven scoreless innings against the Washington Nationals.

The Astros also have a significant advantage when both teams turn to their bullpen. Houston is fourth in bullpen ERA at 3.32 while the Mets are in the bottom 10 in that stat with a bullpen ERA of 4.19.

Give me the Astros as home favorites tonight and let's fade Sherzer together.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.