[BangTheBook]

Winners of the National League East, the Atlanta Braves will get a visit from the Wild Card-winning Houston Astros on Wednesday for Game 1 of the NLDS.

John Smoltz (14-7, 3.06) will go for the Braves in this one, unless his sore shoulder pushes him back to Game 2. Andy Pettitte (17-9, 2.39) will get the ball for the Astros.

Houston will go into this game as a small road dog, as the line opened at -120 in favor of the hosts. The opening total sits at 7.

Game 2 of the series goes on Thursday in Atlanta, with Game 3 on Saturday in Houston. Games 4 and 5 of the set, if necessary, take place on Sunday and Monday.





Some trends to consider:
Houston is 2-4-1 OU in their last 7 games
Houston is 6-3-0 OU in their last 9 games against Atlanta
Houston is 4-1-0 OU in their last 5 games away against Atlanta
Houston is 4-1-0 SU in their last 5 games after scoring 4 to 6 runs
Atlanta is 5-1-0 OU in their last 6 games
Atlanta is 4-1-0 OU in their last 5 games at home against Houston
Atlanta is 6-3-0 OU in their last 9 games against Houston
Atlanta is 3-6-0 SU in their last 9 games after scoring 4 to 6 runs


Next up:
Houston at Atlanta, Thursday, October 6
Atlanta home to Houston, Thursday, October 6

[BangTheBook]

Overall
	W-L	O/U	Avg	ERA
HOU ATL	89-73 90-72	65-92-5 76-75-11	.256 .265	3.52 3.98
	Vs. R	Vs. L	Start	Pen
HOU ATL	.259 .264	.249 .268	3.46 3.65	3.65 4.73

Home/Away
	W-L	O/U	Avg	ERA
HOU ATL	36-45 53-28	34-43-4 38-36-7	.242 .284	3.98 3.82
	Vs. R	Vs. L	Start	Pen
HOU ATL	.248 .286	.229 .276	3.88 3.36	4.22 4.94

Last 10
	W-L	O/U	Avg	ERA
HOU ATL	6-4 4-6	4-6-0 5-4-1	.255 .283	3.07 4.36
	Vs. R	Vs. L	Start	Pen
HOU ATL	.249 .292	.288 .258	3.67 3.64	1.69 5.50

[BangTheBook]

Starters
Overall	W-L	Tm W-L	IP	H	WHIP	ERA	AF	AA	OU
A. Pettitte (L) T. Hudson (R)	17-9 14-9	20-13 17-12	222.1 192.0	188 194	1.03 1.35	2.39 3.52	4.5 4.7	3.2 3.3	13-19 12-15
Last 3	W-L	Tm W-L	IP	H	WHIP	ERA	AF	AA	OU
A. Pettitte (L) T. Hudson (R)	1-0 2-1	1-2 2-1	18.1 20.2	14 16	0.87 1.26	1.96 4.79	4.0 6.3	3.7 3.7	1-2 2-1