The Houston Astros had a five-game winning streak snapped last night as the Oakland Athletics defeated them 2-1 in the opener of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park. The Astros are still up 4-3 on the season though, and I think like the home-team's chances to record an upset tonight.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - The Astros will hand the ball to Roberto Hernandez (1-3, 4.12 ERA) as he'll be looking to bounce back from a poor home-start when he surrendered four runs on six hits over six innings against the Blue Jays. This will be his first start against the A's on the season but he was 1-1 with a 4.32 ERA 2012-2014 and this should be a good spot as any to face the major-league worst Oakland who will counter with Sonny Gray (4-1, 1.61 ERA). While his numbers are very impressive so far, note that he's given up a total of nine walks over his last two road-starts and he might not get much help from an Oakland defense that has committed a major league-high 43 errors on the year.

2. Road Woes - The Athletics are 1-5 in their last six road games and 1-4 in Gray's last five road starts versus a team with a winning record. While the AL leading Houston has been better on the road than at home, it is still a respectable 13-10 home at Minute Maid Park.

3. X-Factor - Jose Altuve is 4-for-11 against Gray lifetime.

Selection: This is a play on the Houston Astros +1.5 (10*)