Astros play the Cubs looking to stop road slide

Houston Astros (7-18, fifth in the AL West) vs. Chicago Cubs (15-9, second in the NL Central) Chicago; Thursday, 2:20 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Justin Verlander (1-0, 3.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, four strikeouts); Cubs: Javier Assad (2-0, 2.11 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 21 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK : LINE Astros -126, Cubs +107; over/under is 8 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros visit the Chicago Cubs looking to end a four-game road slide. Chicago has a 9-3 record in home games and a 15-9 record overall. Cubs hitters have a collective .325 on-base percentage, the sixth-ranked percentage in the NL. Houston is 7-18 overall and 3-9 in road games. The Astros have the best team batting average in the