The Cleveland Indians are at the .500 mark, but that makes them the best in the worst division in baseball. And now, after a win over the defending World Series champion Houston Astros on Sunday, they will try to capture a victory in the rubber game of the series, which begins at 8:05 PM ET at Minute Maid Park. ESPN televises the game live, and BetAnySports customers can watch it and place wagers while the action is in progress, thanks to the advanced technology from Live Betting Ultra.

Cleveland is 22-22, which places them 2.5 games ahead of the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins in the American League Central. The consensus is that they are better than a .500 team, of course, but for some reason they haven't been able to cut loose with their bats when playing on the road. That is, until last night, when they reached former Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel for four extra base hits in a single inning, including a Michael Brantley homer, registering a 5-4 win behind Corey Kluber.

Houston is 29-18, and they lead the Seattle Mariners by two games in the AL West. But Saturday's game ended a streak of ten games in which they had held the opposition to three runs or less.

On Sunday, Carlos Carrasco (5-2, 3.66 ERA) will make the start for the Indians, while Lance McCullers Jr. (5-2, 3.63) will take his turn for the Astros.

In the baseball betting odds posted on this game by the people at BetAnySports, the Astros are favored:

Houston Astros (McCullers) -132
Cleveland Indians (Carrasco) +122

Astros -1.5 Runs +150
Indians +1.5 Runs -170

Under 7.5 Runs -120
Over 7.5 Runs +100

The Indians have averaged a little less than four runs a game with a .219 batting average on the road. And that represents quite a difference when you consider that they score 5.8 runs a game back in Cleveland (with a .278 average). There is also a disparity of 155 points between their home and road OPS.

Carrasco pitched one of the best games of the season when he went the full route against the Milwaukee Brewers on May 9, allowing two runs and striking out 14 batters. But that was sandwiched by efforts that demonstrated some vulnerability. Last time out he was so-so, lasting until two outs in the seventh inning against the Tigers and giving up three runs. In his last two starts against the Astros, he's allowed nine runs and 19 hits in 11-1/3 innings, but he has not faced them since 2016.

McCullers crashed and burned against Cleveland last April 26, giving up five runs in five innings. He had an unusual season in 2017, making the American League All-Star team in his role as a starting pitcher, but switched into the bullpen for the stretch run after he began to struggle. But the one thin he does that is outstanding is keep the ball in the park; in the last two seasons he allowed 13 homers in 200 innings, and he has not surrendered a round-tripper in his last five starts, encompassing 31 innings.

Cleveland shortstop Francisco Lindor came into this series red-hot, with a .923 OPS and eight homers in May, but he has gone just one-for-nine in these last two contests against Houston pitching.

The Tribe has had its problems in the bullpen, with an overall ERA of 5.74 ERA. Andrew Miller has walked nine batters in 11-2/3 innings, which has blown up his WHIP ratio (1.543) after it was just 0.83 last year. Meanwhile, Houston has allowed fewer runs per game out of its relief corps than anybody (2.60).

We'll side with the Astros here, at a rather agreeable number.

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