May 24 MLB Series Prices: Pitching Duels Highlight Red Sox, Astros Weekend Matchup

• The Astros will try to end a two-game losing streak when they take on the Red Sox
• The Brewers look to continue their early season dominance over the Phillies
• The Cardinals hope to snap out of their recent tailspin when they tangle with the surging Braves

Rivalries will be fueled this Memorial Day weekend with a trio of series featuring matchups between clubs that met last week.

The Houston Astros hope to put the brakes on a two-game slide as they host the Boston Red Sox. The Milwaukee Brewers look to continue their steady play at Miller Park as they take on the Philadelphia Phillies, whom they took three of four from last weekend, while the youthful Atlanta Braves try to extend their strongest run of the season as they visit a St. Louis Cardinals squad struggling to break out of a slide that threatens to take them out of postseason contention.

We have odds for each of these new series as well as every other series kicking off on Friday.

Boston Red Sox vs Houston Astros Series Price

Astros Aim to Snap Slide in Weekend Tilt with Road Warrior Red Sox

The Houston Astros will be looking to avoid losing three straight for the first time in over a month when they open a three-game weekend set with the Boston Red Sox at Minute Maid Park on Friday night. The Astros cemented their perch as World Series favorites during a 15-1 run that ended with a pair of losses that closed out a four-game series with the Chicago White Sox earlier this week.

Thirty percent of the Astros losses at home this year have come against the White Sox. Houston is now 18-6 at home.

— Chuck Garfien (@ChuckGarfien) May 24, 2019

The Astros’ torrid run included wins in two of three meetings with Boston at Fenway Park last weekend. However, the club has struggled in recent dates on home turf with the defending World Series champions. Houston has dropped five straight home contests to Red Sox since June of last year, including three defeats in last fall’s ALCS, but continue to own the best home record in the AL at 18-6, and have yet to lose a series at Minute Maid Park so far this season.

Red Sox vs Astros Probable Starting Pitchers

The Red Sox continue a seven-game road trip in Houston after taking three of four from the Toronto Blue Jays, capped by a decisive 8-2 victory as -130 road chalk on Thursday afternoon.

The @RedSox are hitting the ball wicked far, kid. pic.twitter.com/xG4UU3GVpo

— MLB (@MLB) May 20, 2019

The Red Sox outgunned the Blue Jays by a 29-19 margin over their four meetings. In addition to spawning a 3-0-1 run for the OVER in totals betting, the Red Sox series win at Rogers Centre extended their recent run of success on the road, where they have compiled an impressive 11-3 record over their past 14 contests while averaging over 6.4 runs per game.

The Red Sox have compiled an impressive 11-3 record over their past 14 contests on the road.

However, with a trio of titanic pitching matchups on the schedule, starting with a clash between Chris Sale and Wade Miley on Friday, scoring could come at a premium in this weekend’s series in Houston.

Pick: Houston Astros (-120)

Philadelphia Phillies vs Milwaukee Brewers Series Price

Brewers Look to Extend Recent Home Dominance against Visiting Phillies

The Milwaukee Brewers will try to shake off a recent stretch of uneven play that continues to leave them trailing the first-place Chicago Cubs in the highly competitive NL Central standings.

Christian Yelich's back spasms are unrelated to the lower-back stiffness that sidelined him earlier in the season and are not considered serious, Adam McCalvy of https://t.co/hKyoOQ0Tnf reports. pic.twitter.com/BDAUKm5Rq0

— Rotolytics (@rotolytics) May 21, 2019

The Brewers have gone 5-6 in their past 11 outings, but managed to outlast the visiting Cincinnati Reds in a slugfest on Wednesday, picking up an 11-9 win to split a two-game series that opened their current home stand.

Milwaukee’s recent struggles coincide with a nagging injury to reigning AL MVP Christian Yelich, who missed both dates with the Reds nursing a back injury that leaves his status uncertain for Friday night’s series opener. But even without Yelich in the lineup, the Brewers still mustered 13 hits including dingers from Mike Moustakas and Hernan Perez in Wednesday’s win.

Milwaukee also received offensive contributions from up and down the lineup in last weekend’s visit to Philadelphia, where they took three of four from the Phillies while averaging 6.5 runs per game. In addition, the club has been dominant of late on home turf, going 10-4 in their past 14 outings at Miller Park, including recent sweeps of the Washington Nationals and New York Mets.

Phillies vs Brewers Probable Starting Pitchers

The Phillies make the short trip to Milwaukee after splitting a four-game series with the Cubs at Wrigley Field. That series also closed out with a slugfest, with Philadelphia struggling to hang on for a 9-7 win on Thursday after marching to a 7-0 lead.

That continued the Phillies’ recent stretch of streaky play, with the club recording a three-game slide and a four-game winning streak during their current 5-5 run. However, Philadelphia has continued to get the job done on the road, going 7-4 in their past 11, and avoid series losses in their past three road sets, and continue to lead the way on the odds to win the NL East.

The #Phillies have the best odds of winning the NL East thanks to a recent hot stretch that has seen them win four of their last five games. Can they continue to hold off the hard-charging Braves? https://t.co/ao2NRggHfU

— SportsBettingDime (@SBD) May 23, 2019

The Phillies have also enjoyed recent success in Milwaukee, going 3-1 in their past four visits, but have failed to tally consecutive series victories at Miller Park since 2011.

Pick: Milwaukee Brewers (-160)

Atlanta Braves vs St. Louis Cardinals Series Price

Youthful Braves Look to Extend Season-Best Run in Clash with Slumping Cardinals

The Atlanta Braves aim to continue their march up the NL East standings as they continue a seven-game road trip with a three-game weekend series against the struggling St. Louis Cardinals.

The youthful Braves continued to turn heads by taking three of four from the Giants in San Francisco earlier this week, continuing a steady run that has produced wins in 10 of the club’s past 13 outings. On Thursday, it was rookie Austin Riley’s turn to capture the spotlight, going 3-for-6 with a home run and three RBI in Atlanta’s 5-4 victory over the Giants. Riley is the latest of the Braves young core to come up big.

Max Fried has an ERA+ of 149 this season. No #Braves pitcher has had an ERA+ of 149 or higher in a season (min. 10 starts) since 2012 https://t.co/K87P0qQohB pic.twitter.com/VqnHgGbBAl

— Baseball Reference (@baseball_ref) May 23, 2019

Starters Max Fried and Mike Soroka, who is schedule to get the start for the Braves on Saturday, have anchored Atlanta’s rotation, combining for a 12-3 record, while outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. has carried over the strong play from his 2018 rookie season, connecting on 11 home runs and 31 RBI.

Starters Max Fried and Mike Soroka have anchored Atlanta’s rotation, combining for a 12-3 record.

The Braves’ youngsters have been key to the club’s recent overall surge, and steady play on the road, where they have won 10 of 15 while winning three of four series.

Braves vs Cardinals Probable Starting Pitchers

Conversely, the Cardinals have struggled throughout the month of May after losing just seven games in April. The club has failed to tally consecutive wins while going 5-14 in 19 games since opening the month with a 5-1 victory in Washington, including a dismal 3-6 run in their past nine home dates, and now find themselves mired in fourth place in the NL Central, and quickly falling out of contention on the odds to win the NL Pennant.

Cards plagued by bad starting pitching on road, too many walks | St. Louis Cardinals | https://t.co/tAdE6GuBpI https://t.co/6bpgtLpH8M

— Ramon Ponce de Leon (@Poncedeleon_LM) May 22, 2019

The Cardinals’ recent slide includes a pair of losses in a three-game series in Atlanta last week, extending their recent struggles against the Braves. In addition to going 3-7 in their past 10 overall against the Braves, the Cardinals are also 3-7 in their past 10 home dates with Atlanta, including a three-game sweep last July in which they were outscored by a 22-10 margin.

Pick: Atlanta Braves (+145)

Additional MLB Series Odds