Matt Fargo

The Giants are in the midst of a rough stretch after losing for the eighth time in nine games last night in Atlanta in extra innings following a Matt Kemp two-run walk-off home run. San Francisco is now 20 games under .500 after coming into the season as World Series contenders and they have fallen 20.5 games out of first place in the National League West which is now the biggest margin in all of baseball. San Francisco is also last in baseball in profit margin but the big reason is that they are now 14-26 as favorites but are in a better role tonight loaded with value. The Braves remain in second place in the National League East as the rebuilding season has been much better than expected. Atlanta has won four of its last five games but is still sitting two games under .500 at home and comes in with a 10-14 record as a favorite. Jaime Garcia gets the ball for Atlanta and he had a five-game quality start streak snapped in his last outing as he allowed six-runs in 5.2 innings against Miami but was bailed out with the offense that backed him with eight runs. Overall, the Braves have given him just 3.4 rpg of support at home which is a big reason he is winless in five starts and despite the recent struggles, the Giants are hitting .291 over their last 10 games against left-handed pitching. Matt Cain has been all over the place this season and his main struggles have come during the day as he has posted a 7.12 ERA over five starts but that ERA drops to 3.96 in nine primetime starts. One of his best starts this season came against the Braves and he can duplicate that again here. 10* (959) San Francisco Giants

Houston has extended the best record in baseball by winning the first three games of this series and it goes for the sweep this afternoon in Oakland. While there are some teams in baseball that have had surprisingly good results on the road but the Astros have taken it to the next level as they are an incredible 26-8 on the highway including an 18-3 record over their last 21 games. That is the reason they are hefty road favorites despite a severe disadvantage in the starting pitching matchup. Oakland was coming off a four-game home sweep over the Yankees prior to this series and was 20-7 in its previous 27 home games so winning here has not been an issue. Solving Houston has obviously been the problem but this is the best pitching matchup over the first six meetings this season. Jesse Hahn gets the ball for Oakland and he is having a solid season as he has allowed three runs or less in 10 of his 11 starts and while Oakland is 0-6 in his six road starts, it is 4-1 in his five home outings with an average scoring differential of over 2.5 rpg. Going back, the A's are 4-0 in his last four home starts against teams with a winning record. The Astros counter with David Paulino who is coming off a quality start but has been barely average overall in his four starts. He has not lost (1-0) but that is because he has received 9.3 rpg of support and that changes today. 10* (968) Oakland A's