The Astros make the trip to Chicago to face the Cubs. The Astros have been struggling, while the Cubs have been gaining momentum heading into this matchup. Our MLB odds series has our Astros-Cubs prediction, odds, and pick for Tuesday.

The Astros have opened this season struggling. They have a 7-17 record and have lost three straight games and six out of their last seven games. Despite their early struggles, their offense has played their part with a top-three batting average as a team in the entire MLB. Jose Altuve, Kyle Tucker, and Yordan Alvarez have been great and bombing it for Houston. The issue facing Houston is that so far they are getting obliterated on the mound and are only in front of the Colorado Rockies in staff ERA as the second to last in the league. Justin Verlander is back from injury, but Framber Valdez and Cristian Javier are both out and the rest of the rotation has struggled so far. The Astros obviously have the talent, but they have a lot to figure out with their pitching because there have been numerous issues so far.

The Cubs have started the season playing well and have a 14-9 record. Their bats are in the top half of the league but their pitching has struggled a bit and is in the lower half of the league. On offense, Michael Busch, Cody Bellinger, Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ, and Dansby Swanson make up a very good offense for the Cubs. Shota Imanaga and Javier Assad are standouts for a pitching staff that has been ravaged by injuries, highlighted by Justin Steele, who is still out due to a hamstring injury. The Cubs have come on strong a bit lately and have the depth behind the plate to compete with almost anyone in the MLB.

Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Astros-Cubs Odds

Houston Astros: -1.5 (+122)

Moneyline: -134

Chicago Cubs: +1.5 (-162)

Moneyline: +114

Over: 8 (-110)

Under: 8 (-110)

How to Watch Astros vs. Cubs

Time: 2:20 pm ET

TV: Space City Home Network

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Astros Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Astros are putting Justin Verlander on the mound where he has a 1-0 record, a 3.00 ERA, and a 0.67 WHIP. In his only start so far this season, he pitched six innings where he allowed two runs on four hits with one home run, zero walks, and four strikeouts in a win for the Astros. Last season, Verlander was very good with a 7-3 record, 3.31 ERA, and a 1.12 WHIP. Verlander is back from injury and could be the x-factor for the Astros on the mound based on how much they have been struggling with their pitching.

The offense for the Astros has been a huge bright spot so far this season. The Astros are tied for second in the MLB in team batting average at .263 after having a team batting average of .259 last season. Jose Altuve and Kyle Tucker lead the Astros in almost every important batting category. Altuve leads the team in batting average at .357, in home runs at five, in OBP at .422, and total hits at 35. Tucker then leads in RBI at 17. At least five Astros have hit three or more home runs with three being tied for the team lead at five highlighted by Altuve. This offense has had to carry them this season and that will be no different against the Cubs in Chicago.

Why The Cubs Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Cubs are putting Javier Assad on the mound where has a 2-0 record, a 2.11 ERA, and a 1.03 WHIP. Through 21.1 innings, he has allowed five runs on 14 hits with eight walks and 21 strikeouts. In his last start, he pitched 4.2 innings and allowed one run on three hits with three walks and three strikeouts. In four appearances so far this season, the Cubs are 2-2. Last season, he was decent had an 5-3 record, a 3.05 ERA, and a 1.23 WHIP. Assad has come on very strong this season and is one of the best pitchers in the Cubs lineup, so it should be an interesting matchup against an offense as good as the Astros.

The Cubs' offense has slowly ramped up this season. They are 12th in team batting average at .24 after finishing last season with a .254 batting average. The offense is led by Michael Busch, Cody Bellinger, and Nico Hoerner in most of the batting categories. Busch leads the way in batting average at .292 and in home runs at six. Nico Hoerner then leads the way in OBP at .368 and in total hits at 22. Finally, Cody Bellinger leads the way in RBI at 17. Their offense gets a good challenge against a pitcher as good as Justin Verlander in this spot.

Final Astros-Cubs Prediction & Pick

This game is going to come down to pitching because Verlander is Houston's best hope to rebound, while Assad has been great for the Cubs on the mound. Each team has a very good offense with the Astros being great and the Cubs not far behind, despite starting the year slowly. The home crowd will be a factor too for the Cubs. Expect the Cubs to keep it close and cover the spread in this spot, even if the Astros might still win.

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Final Astros-Cubs Prediction & Pick: Chicago Cubs +1.5 (-162)