Astros Preview

We’re getting the next episode up a little late (it should be up later tonight), so rather than preview a series that is already in progress, I thought it might be a good idea to just post a preview of the Astros series on the website.  And if you are wondering why we are recording late, it is 100% percent Ted’s fault.  It couldn’t possibly be any more Ted’s fault and no fault of my own.  Please forgive the lack of links and picture, as I’m trying to squeeze this in during my lunch break.  We’ll pretend that is Ted’s fault as well.

This 4-game match-up features two last place teams trying to battle their way out of the cellar.  The Rockies sit one game behind Arizona in the NL West while the Astros trail Pittsburgh by one game in the NL Central.  But to make us all feel better, we’ll call this a battle between the NL West 5th place Rockies and the NL Central 6th place Astros.  Houston is just 2-8 in their last 10 games and 9-15 at home this season.  We’ve already see the Astros this season, so you should know what they can bring to the table.  Miguel Tejada and Hunter Pence have been their best hitters so far this season, hitting .350 & .341 respectively.  Carlos Lee isn’t looking to shabby himself, hitting a solid .308 with 8 homers.  But they are not without their fair share of under-achievers.  Lance Berkman, although he has 10 homeruns on the season, is hitting a mere .230 and Kaz Matsui comes in with a .219 average.  I’m sure Astros bloggers are saying similar things about Atkins’ .194 and Tulo’s .226, but you’re bound to find a handful of struggling players on every last place team.

The Pitching Match-ups

Monday - Aaron Cook (3-2, 4.82) vs Roy Oswalt (1-2, 4.62)

Tuesday - Ooooooh-Baldo (3-6, 4.37) vs Felipe Paulino (1-4, 6.75)

Wednesday - Jason Marquis (7-3, 3.93) vs Brian Moehler (2-3, 6.43)

Thursday - Jason Hammel (1-3, 4.83) vs Wandy Rodriquez (5-4, 2.26)