Houston at Philadelphia

Houston plays its sixth straight on the road on a 2-5 slide. They lost the opener of this series last night, 3-2, in 10 innings using five of their best relievers. That's a concern as 41-year-old Justin Verlander has gone 5 innings in each of his last three starts. He comes off losses to Boston (4-1) and the Angels (9-4). The Astros are 1-7 when Verlander starts with five days of rest. First place Philadelphia is on an 8-4 run with an offense that is sixth in runs, fifth in on-base percentage, eighth in slugging, and fifth in steals. Aaron Nola (3.45 ERA) has a 3.20 ERA at home where he's holding batters to a .220 average. The Phillies are 17-8 in his last 25 starts. Play Philadelphia.