It's rare to find the Astros an underdog. The last time was July 13 when they went up against Shohei Ohtani on the road. So while I have great respect for the Braves, I'm going to take a plus price on Houston in a pitching matchup of Lance McCullers Jr. versus Kyle Wright.

McCullers made his first start of the season six days ago and helped shut out the A's, 8-0. McCullers was rusty, walking four batters. But he threw six shutout innings, striking out five. The Braves are an obvious monster upgrade from the A's. McCullers certainly is capable of holding Atlanta in check, though, for five innings. He's backed by the best bullpen in the majors. Houston has the lowest bullpen ERA at 2.91. No other bullpen has an ERA under 3.00.

The Braves are off a huge four-game divisional series against the Mets. Perhaps their concentration and intensity may be down following Thursday's 3-2 victory against Jacob deGrom. The Astros certainly aren't going to lack their fullest motivation having lost to Atlanta in last year's World Series.

The Astros are off a laugher having destroyed the White Sox, 21-5, on Thursday. Houston banged out 25 hits in that game.

Wright's season numbers are excellent: 14-5, 3.14 ERA. However, he complained of shoulder fatigue after his last start, which was on Aug. 10. Maybe that's why Wright hasn't been quite as sharp during his last five starts posting a 3.69 ERA during this span while giving up 32 hits in 31 2/3 innings and seven homers during this time frame.

(Editor's note: Stephen Nover's Friday card is headed by his NFL Preseason Game of the Year as he looks to go 5-1 on his preseason plays.)