posted June 11, 2008 at 17:30 EST in MLB Articles

The Houston Astros, (33-32, 37-28 RL) picked up just their third victory in their last ten sports betting contests on Tuesday night, beating the Milwaukee Brewers, (33-31, 28-36 RL) handily just as I predicted in the BetUS Locker Room on Tuesday.

I am back today to give BetUS online sports gamblers who like to wager on MLB baseball, another MLB bankroll-increasing winning wager.

The Brewers may be winners of seven of their last ten games in the BetUS Sportsbook, but they have lost three of four coming into tonight’s matchup all after winning a season-best six straight games.

"Nobody is here pointing fingers," Milwaukee starter Seth McClung told the team's official Web site. "We want to win. We want to battle. We want to fight. We're going to knock this road stuff off."

BetUS online MLB gamblers should also know that the Brewers stand an excellent chance of winning tonight with lefty, Manny Parra (4-2, 4.33 ERA) taking the mound tonight. Though Parra is just 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA in two career starts against the Astros, Houston may be meeting Parra at the wrong time as he has been absolutely terrific recently, limiting Milwaukee’s opponents to either one run or absolutely none in four of his last five starts.

Parra has won two consecutive outings while recording a phenomenal 1.38 ERA while holding opponents to a microscopic .174 batting average during the span. Parra allowed just one run on four hits on Wednesday in leading the Brewers to a 10-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Astros recorded their much-needed victory, just the team’s third in their last ten games overall, all after a team meeting with general manager Ed Wade.

"I'm not going to talk about the meeting," Wade said. "With all due respect, we had the team meeting, talked about some things, clarified some things and got ready for the game. If I wanted the media to be in the meeting, I would have invited them in."

Team meetings aside, what the Astros really need is better pitching, both, from their starting hurlers and the team’s mediocre relievers.

The Astros will turn to right-hander Brandon Backe (4-7, 4.66 ERA) to help them try to win consecutive games for the first time since May 23-24,

Backe however, has been miserable lately, recording a high, 7.36 ERA while dropping each of his last two starts, allowing four runs on nine hits in six innings in his last start on Thursday as the Astros fell 5-3 to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Here is a look at tonight’s key online sports wagering trends followed by my analysis and MLB online betting Free Picks:

The Brewers are 5-1 in Parra’s last six starts vs. National League Central.

The Brewers are 2-5 in Parra’s last seven road starts.

The Astros are 5-1 in Backe’s last six Wednesday starts.

The Astros are 25-6 in Backe’s last 31 home starts.

The Over is 4-1 in Parra’s last five starts during game two of a series.

The Under is 5-0 in Backe’s last five starts vs. National League Central.

The Under is 5-0 in Backe’s last five starts vs. Brewers.

The Brewers are 16-7 in the last 23 meetings.

Analysis: I think the BetUS MLB online sports wagering community has an easy selection on their collective hands tonight with the Brewers’ Manny Parra taking the mound and throwing ‘lights out’ baseball over the last month or so and Houston’s Brandon Backe looking like a Triple-A pitcher at best these days. Take the Brewers and their big boppers to bash Brandon Backe in a big way.

MLB Free Picks: Brewers 8 Astros 2

08:05 PM EST MLB Lines

Milwaukee Brewers

Manny Parra - L +1½ -210

Houston Astros

Brandon Backe - R -1½ +175

Over 9½ EV

Under 9½ -120

National League

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