The Houston Astros are sitting top of the AL West with the Los Angeles Angels in second five games back. The teams have split the first two of a four-game series and the Astros seems to have lost some of that terrific momentum they had earlier in the season as they came into the series on the back of three consecutive losses to the Rangers. The Angels meanwhile have won three of their last four and are looking good to come up with an upset tonight.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - The Angels will hand the ball to Matt Shoemaker (2-2, 5.40 ERA) who's shown some fairly consisting pitching so far on the year. He's coming off a 3-2 loss against the Mariners where he recorded a season-high 10 strikeouts while surrendering three runs on four hits over 7 1/3 innings. He allowed two runs and struck out seven over six innings in a 5-2 home victory over Houston on July 3. The Astros will counter with Dallas Keuchel (3-0, 0.80 ERA) who's off to an outstanding start to the season. He struggled against the Angels last year though, posting a 4.21 EA over four starts and is due for a stinker soon after such a dominant start to the year.

2. Situational - The Angels are 7-1 in Shoemaker's last eight starts with four days of rest and 11-2 in his last 13 starts versus AL West opponents. The Astros meanwhile are just 1-4 in their last five against American League West.

3. X-Factor - David Freese was 2-for-3 last night and has owned Keuchel over previous meetings going 8-for-14 with a home run lifetime.

Selection: This is a play on the Los Angeles Angels +1.5 (8*)