Pittsburgh Pirates – Tied for 1st (Odds to win World Series: 35-1)
At the start of the season, most sportsbook had the Pirates as 100 or 200-1 odds to win. But after having a very solid first half of the regular season, the sportsbook have now boosted their position and dropped the odds on the Bucs winning the World Series. with one of the best young pitching staffs in baseball, this could be the year Pittsburgh makes some noise heading to the post season.

St.Louis Cardinals – Tied for 1st (Odds to win World Series: 22-1)
The Cardinals were seen as outsiders when it came to capturing the division and having a chance at winning the 2011 World Series. To date, the Cards have performed a bit better than expected and have hung in, sitting in a 3-way tie for top spot in the NL Central. And with first baseman Pujols back and hitting, St.Louis may just surprise.

Cincinnati Reds – 3 games behind (Odds to win World Series: 35-1)
The Reds have struggled a bit at times this year, but are still a solid club and as good a bet as any to lead the NL Central come September. The defending divison champs were ranked much higher than they currently are, and may be good value heading down the stretch to the post season.

Chicago Cubs – 11.5 games behind (Odds to win World Series: 300-1)
At the start of the 2011 season, and with the additions of Garza and Pena, the Cubs were certainly expected to rise out of the basement, but no further than fourth. Well to date, they have done that, sitting 8.5 games up on last place Houston but with no chance to move out of fifth. Another long year for the Cubbies faithful.

Houston Astros – 20 game behind (Odds to win World Series: 1000-1)
Houston was expected to finish last in the division and be one of the worst teams in baseball. They have surpised or dissappointed anyone. They are just a bad team on their way to a very bad record.

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Houston Astros had a successful end to June. They finished 14-14 in June, leaving the Astros excited about facing the team with the NL’s best record. By losing two of three at AL West-leading Texas, Houston opened its trip before winning its first road series in three weeks at Milwaukee. In early May, the Padres took two of three at Houston.

In Wednesday’s 5-1 win over the Brewers, Houston’s Geoff Blum had two hits. For the Astros, Chris Johnson had four hits and drove in two runs Wednesday. He has won five of eight. With six RBIs in seven games and being recalled from Triple-A Round Rock, the third baseman is 12 for 29.

Against San Diego’s Jon Garland (8-5, 3.13 ERA), Houston could be in for a test. Over the Astros, Garland looks for a fourth straight win. Versus the Astros, he is 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA in six starts but has seven hits in 14 scoreless innings in the last two. On May 8, in seven innings of a 2-1 win at Houston, Garland gave up two hits. On Saturday, in a 2-1 win at Florida, Garland earned his second straight consecutive victory after he yielded a run in 6 2/3 innings.

As San Diego avoided being swept with a 13-3 win over Colorado, for the second time in three games Wednesday, Scott Hairston drove in four runs. The Padres have scored at least 13 on three occasions this season. In their previous two games, they totaled nine runs.

Against the Rockies, Adrian Gonzalez was 1 for 13. At Houston in May, he went for 1 for 9. In six starts since joining the rotation in late May, Moehler is 1/3 with a 6.37 ERA. In five starts against San Diego, he is 2-1 with a 3.16 ERA.

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In San Francisco’s recent dominance of the Houston Astros, Barry Zito has played a key part. On Wednesday night, Zito looks to help the Giants win their 10th consecutive game against the Astros.

Against the Astros (26-45), Zito (7-3, 3.13 ERA) makes his third start this season. To win both 2010 outings, in 13 innings, the left-hander has allowed three runs and struck out nine. In five career starts versus the Astros, he has improved to 3-1 with a 3.69 ERA.

During the nine-game winning streak in the series, the Giants (39-30) have outscored the Astros 53-20. At Minute Maid Park, San Francisco, 7-0 against Houston this season, will try for a seventh consecutive victory.

Against Houston’s scheduled starter Brett Myers (4-5, 3.34), that could be a challenge. In seven home starts, Myers has a 3-0 with a 2.89 ERA. after giving up four runs in 6 2/3 innings of a 5-2 loss at Kansas City on Thursday, years, a right-hander, will look to avoid a third straight defeat overall.

Over the last 11 games, San Francisco’s Aubrey Huff is batting.410, after a two-hit effort in the series opener.

With an RBI on Tuesday for the Astros, Michael Bourn went 2 for 4. Astros have lost nine of 10. Bourn is 5 for 42 with 15 strikeouts in his last 11 games, despite a solid effort in the series opener.

In Houston’s system, Catcher Jason Castro, the 10th overall pick in the 2008 draft is regarded as the top prospect, went 1 for 4 in his major league debut Tuesday.

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For the Giants scoring runs has been a problem all season resulting in dismal series. Against the Astros, the Giants open a three-game set to end a four-game home losses whereas the Astros will try to win their fifth straight. San Francisco lost 1-0 in the series against San Diego this week. The Giants struck out 15 times and batted .183 in the match. With 23 runs, the Astros have put together their best four-game stretch during this win streak, which is quite a feat.

In April, against the San Francisco Giants, Matt Lindstrom never got a chance to save a game but he may not be available for Friday’s match, which is unfortunate for the Astros. In the majors, no team has scored fewer runs than Houston’s 104. Lance Berkman over the last four games, he has two homers, five runs and has raised his average from .175 to .239. He was out due to left knee surgery and his presence will definitely help Houston.

“I was hitting .190 coming in (to the series with St. Louis) so I expected at some point I was going to get some hits,” said Berkman, a career .298 hitter.

Edgar Renteria went 8 for 11 in last month’s series. He is injured because of a groin strain. The problem with the Giants is that the hitters are going through a lean patch, bad news for Giants. Pablo Sandoval is 5 for 48 over his last 11 and Juan Uribe, RBI leader, in his last eight games is 4 for 26.

Against the Astros, Todd Wellemeyer (1-3, 5.97), who is 0-2 with a 2.70 ERA in four career starts will be used by Giants to counter the Astros and make for some good baseball betting action.

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