The San Francisco Giants will try and take some of their home success on the road as they open up a series on Monday against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. They have a good shot on Monday considering Matt Cain will be on the mound. He is 12-2 on the season with a 2.12 ERA. He will be opposed by Mike Hampton who is 6-8 with a 5.36 ERA.

Oddsmakers currently have the Giants listed as 130-moneyline favorites versus the Astros, while the game's total is sitting at 8.
 
If not for teammate Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain might be on his way to a Cy Young this season. Cain has been brilliant most of the season including his last start when he allowed just three hits in nine innings but got a no-decision. Last year in his only start against the Astros he went eight innings and got the win.

Matt Cain will be the starting pitcher for the Giants on this day. Righthander Cain is 12-2 this season with a 2.12 ERA.

If the Astros had any other options for starting pitching then Hampton might already be out of a job. He was shelled in his last start against Chicago giving up eight hits and nine runs. The only good news for Hampton is that he is 15-4 with a 3.59 ERA in his career against the Giants. Lefthander Hampton is 6-8 with a 5.36 ERA so far this season.

Oddsmakers currently have the Giants listed as 130-moneyline favorites versus the Astros, while the game's total is sitting at 8.

The Giants defeated Philadelphia 7-3 as a +155 underdog on Sunday. The 10 runs scored went OVER the posted over/under total (8).

Freddy Sanchez was 2-4 with a pair of RBI for San Francisco and Barry Zito allowed two earned runs on six hits in six innings.

The Astros are falling out of the playoff race and that doesn’t look likely to change since their pitching staff is decimated with injuries. Roy Oswalt may have to go on the DL and Wandy Rodriguez was hurt on Saturday and has a right hamstring strain. The team may have to call up Yorman Bazardo, who was 9-4 with a 2.76 ERA in 21 games in Triple A.

The Astros defeated St. Louis 2-0 as a +230 underdog on Sunday. The two runs scored fell UNDER the posted over/under total (8).

Bud Norris pitched seven shutout innings for Houston and Miguel Tejada was 2-3 with an RBI in the win.

The Under is 6-0 in the Giants last 6 vs. the National League Central. The Under is 5-1 in the Giants last 6 games vs. a left-handed starter. The Under is 4-1 in the Giants last 5 road games. The Under is 4-0 in Cain’s last 4 starts overall. The Over is 12-5-1 in Hampton’s last 18 home starts. The Over is 4-1-1 in the last 6 meetings between the two teams.
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Current streak:
San Francisco has won 2 straight games.

Team records:
San Francisco: 58-47 SU
Houston: 52-53 SU

San Francisco most recently:
When playing on Monday are 5-5
Before playing Houston are 4-6
After playing Philadelphia are 5-5
After a win are 6-4

Houston most recently:
When playing on Monday are 7-3
Before playing San Francisco are 7-3
After playing St. Louis are 6-4
After a win are 6-4

A few trends to consider:
San Francisco is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Francisco's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of San Francisco's last 8 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Francisco's last 6 games when playing Houston
Houston is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against San Francisco
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Houston's last 5 games at home
Houston is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games when playing San Francisco
Houston is 8-3 SU in its last 11 games at home
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