It is interleague plays as the Chicago Cubs visit the Houston Astros. It is time to continue our MLB odds series with a Cubs-Astros prediction, pick, and how-to watch.

The Cubs just lost two of three in Minnesota and now have lost five of their last seven games. They are 19-21 on the season, sitting in this place in their division currently. Meanwhile, the Astros just won two of three and are sitting at 21-19 on the season. Last time out it was Yainer Diaz hitting his first major league home run to lead the Astros to the win. The Astros have struggled with consistency this season overall though. This year after a home victory, the Astros are just 1-6 in the next game. The Astros are also struggling to score some runs too. Their games have gone under the run total in each of their last five.

21-19 on the season. Here are the Cubs-Astros MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Cubs-Astros Odds

Chicago Cubs: +1.5 (-134)

Houston Astros:  -1.5 (+112)

Over: 7.5 (-115)

Under: 7.5 (-105)

How To Watch Cubs vs. Astros

TV: MARQ/ATTH

Stream: MLB.TV

Time: 8:10 PM ET/ 5:10 PM PT

*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why The Cubs Could Cover The Spread

The Cubs have been hitting fairly well this year. Their offense is fourth in batting average, second in on-base percentage, and second in BAPIP. Still, they rank 9th in the majors in run scored, primarily due to the number of men they leave in scoring position. The Cubs leave 3.83 runners in scoring position per game this year. That ranks them 29th in the majors on the season.

Dansby Swanson has been left on base a lot this year. He is hitting .275 on the season with 15 RBIs. He reaches base a fair amount and has been scoring more as of late. In May, he reached base twenty times and scored six of them. That is helped by his two home runs on the month though. Patrick Wisdom leads the team in runs batters in with 23 of them so far on the season. He has struggled some this month though. He is hitting just .208 so far on the month but still has driven in eight runs.

On the hill, today for the Cubs will be James Tallion. He is currently 0-2 with a 6.41 ERA on the season. He is striking out 11.44 per nine innings of pitching, but he is still giving up too many baserunners. In his last two starts, he has gone a combined 5.2 innings, while giving up eight hits, two walks, and seven runs in those outings. He has still managed to walk away with two no-decisions in those two games.

Why The Astros Could Cover The Spread

The Astros have won four of their last five games, and that is primarily due to amazing pitching. The Astros are second in team ERA and eighth in team WHIP this year. They will be sending their ace to the mound today in Framber Valdez. Valdez is 3-4 on the year with a 2.38 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. In his last two starts, he has gone a combined 14 innings while giving up just three runs. He did go 1-1 in those starts though, as he did not get run support in a 4-2 loss against the Giants. Still, his ERA is 1.93 on the month, and he should have a chance to improve on that today. No player on the Cubs roster has ever recorded a hit against Valdez.

Meanwhile, there are guys on the Astros roster who have had success against Tallion. Alex Bregman has hit .667 against him with a home run and three RBIs. Yordan Alvarez has hit .333 with a home run and three RBIs as well. Kyle Tucker has hit .600 against him with a solo home run. Jose Abreu has the most at-bats against Tallion and has hit .273.

The combination of Bregman, Alvarez, Tucker, and Abreu have also all hit better against right-handed pitching this year. Tucker is hitting .264 on the year against righties, including five home runs and 19 RBIs. The biggest concern today should be strikeouts. Jeremy Pena, with Alvarez and Abreu, has struck out a combined 109 times this year. With Tallion on the hill, who has been striking out guys in bunches, they will need to find a way to make contact today.

Final Cubs-Astros Prediction & Pick

This should be a very good game. The Astros may not be able to get a ton going against Tallion today, considering how well Tallion has been striking out guys. Valdez for the Astros has been solid, and if he had gotten some run support a few more times this year, the record would be much better. There is a reason the total is sitting at 7.5 for this game. It should be a low-scoring close affair. With a low-scoring game, it favors the team receiving runs. That is the Cubs in this case.

Final Cubs-Astros Prediction & Pick: Chicago Cubs +1.5 (-134)