The Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros hope to turn things around after tough starts to the week, when they face off in a Friday matinee to being a three-game interleague series. The Cubs (29-21) just got swept at home by the rival Brewers and have lost eight of 10 to fall out of first place in the rugged NL Central. The Astros (20-31) have scored five runs in their last four games combined, losing three of them to fall further back from the Athletics in the AL West. Houston starts Spencer Arrighetti (5-1, 1.50 ERA) against Chicago's Jameson Taillon (2-3, 4.94).
First pitch from Wrigley Field in Chicago is set for 2:20 p.m. ET. Chicago is a -148 favorite on the money line (risk $148 to win $100) in the latest Astros vs. Cubs odds, with Houston priced at +120 (risk $100 to win $120). The over/under is 7.