Houston Astros
Friday, April 23, 8:05 PM (FSN)
Saturday, April 24, 7:05 PM
Sunday, April 25, 2:05 PM (FSN)
No TV broadcast on Saturday due to the Senators forcing a Game 6 with the Penguins.
Time to shake off the worst series and loss in Pirates history and get on with the season. If any team could help the Pirates do that, it would be the worst team in the National League, the Houston Astros.
The Astros jumped out to an absolutely terrible start, losing their first 8 games. Since then, they have been better, winning 5 of 7. Of those wins, 2 were against the Cubs, two were at home against Florida, and one on the road vs. St. Louis. Basically, that's three quality wins for this team on the year.
Houston has the second worst run differential in the NL, at -30. Obviously after the last series, the Pirates have the worst.
Houston has a worse record at home than they do on the road, 2-7 and 3-3 respectively. They currently sit in last place in the NL Central.
The Pirates, meanwhile, have dropped to 3rd place and 3 games out of first place.
The Bucs are going to have to pull out some wins here, because the road ahead doesn't get any easier.
Ross Ohlendorf is still on the Disabled List, so the starting pitcher for Saturday is not clear at this point.
Expected Pitching Matchups
April 20: Roy Oswalt vs. Paul Maholm
April 21: Wandy Rodriguez vs. ???? (Chris Jakubauskas or Kevin Hart most likely)
April 22: Brett Myers vs. Charlie Morton
Roy Oswalt is 1-2 on the year, with his only win coming in Chicago against the Cubs, a 4-3 victory. He has an ERA of 2.37 so far and has only allowed 5 ER, one of which was a home run. He has 17 Ks and only 4 walks on the year, but he has allowed 17 hits. This is the strongest candidate for a pitching duel.
Wandy Rodriguez is 0-2-1 so far. He has an ERA of 4.67 and has allowed 9 ER and one HR. He has 7 walks, 7 Ks, and 20 hits on the year. This match really depends on how well whoever starts for the Pirates does, but if he is strong it could be a decent day for the Bucs.
Brett Myers has an ERA of 4.05 and is 0-1-2 on the year. He has allowed 24 hits, 9 ER, and 2 homers so far. He also has 3 walks and 12 Ks. Again, this one depends on how well Charlie Morton throws, but the Astros aren't exactly a power-hitting team, so I'm hopeful that we can pencil a win in for this one.
Proposed Lineups
Astros
1-M. Bourn CF
2-J. Keppinger SS
3-L. Berkman 1B
4-C. Lee LF
5-H. Pence RF
6-P. Feliz 3B
7-K. Matsui 2B
8-H. Quintero C
9-[Pitcher]
Pirates
1-A. Iwamura 2B
2-A. McCutchen CF
3-L. Milledge LF
4-G. Jones RF
5-R. Doumit C
6-J. Clement 1B
7-Delwyn Young 3B
8-[Pitcher]
9-R. Cedeño SS
Let's Go Bucs.
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