(My Sportsbook) - After needing extra innings to decide a winner on Tuesday, the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros meet again tonight at Minute Maid Park to determine which team will come out on top of this season-opening three-game set.

Chicago drew first blood in the series with a 4-2 victory on Opening Day, but the Astros returned the favor by edging the two-time defending National League Central champions in 10 innings last night. Jeff Keppinger's broken-bat single with the bases loaded provided the winning margin as Houston came through with a hard-earned 3-2 win.

After Ivan Rodriguez and Lance Berkman opened the bottom of the 10th with singles off Neal Cotts (0-1), Cubs closer Kevin Gregg entered the contest and promptly retired pinch-hitter Jason Michaels on a fly ball. Miguel Tejada was then intentionally walked to set things up for Keppinger, whose dribbler found a hole on the left side of the infield to plate Rodriguez.

Chicago had tied the game at 2-2 on Alfonso Soriano's solo homer off reliever LaTroy Hawkins, the All-Star outfielder's second long ball in as many games.

Hunter Pence homered for Houston and finished 2-for-3 in the win, while teammate Geoff Blum also collected a pair of hits on the night. Doug Brocail picked up the victory after recording the final out in the top of the 10th.

Both starting pitchers fared well despite not factoring in the decision. Houston's Wandy Rodriguez allowed just one run and four hits over the first six innings, while the Cubs' Ryan Dempster held the Astros to two runs in his six-inning stint.

Houston will be shooting for its third consecutive series win at home against the Cubs, but will have to best an old nemesis in Chicago's Ted Lilly during tonight's rubber match.

Lilly was brilliant in his three appearances against Houston in 2008, with the gritty left-hander limiting the club to a mere three runs and 11 hits over 19 1/3 innings and winning two of those starts. In his most recent outing at Minute Maid Park, he yielded one hit and struck out nine Astros over seven shutout innings in a 6-1 Chicago victory last September.

The 33-year-old held his own in plenty of other enemy stadiums as well last season, as Lilly recorded a 10-4 record with a 3.77 earned run average in 19 road starts en route to setting a career high with 17 wins.

He's faced the Astros a total of six times over a 10-year career and sports a 3-1 record with an excellent 2.52 ERA lifetime against Houston.

Houston pins its hopes this evening on the arm of veteran Brian Moehler, a very pleasant surprise for the team a year ago. The well-traveled right-hander began the season in the bullpen but emerged as one of the Astros' most reliable starters, recording an 11-8 record with a 4.56 ERA in 31 games (26 starts). It was Moehler's first season with double-digit victories since he won 12 games with the Tigers in 2000.

Moehler had a 3.68 ERA in four matchups with the Cubs last year, but went just 1-2 in those starts. The 37-year-old wasn't helped out much by his offense, which put up only seven runs total in the four games.

In 10 career appearances against Chicago, seven of which have been starts, Moehler is 2-2 with a 3.80 ERA.

Houston won four of its six matchups at home against the Cubs last season, as well as nine of the 17 overall meetings between the NL Central foes.

With a win tonight, Chicago will have won a season-opening series for the first time since the club took two of three games from the New York Mets in 2003.