Oswalt, Houston Astros (-154) set to host Pirates
Oswalt, Houston Astros (-154) set to host Pirates
While attention is being paid to the pitching matchup in the Bronx today, don't forget the arms taking the hill at Minute Maid Park where the Houston Astros are hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates.
No doubt the Saturday afternoon game in New York with C.C. Sabathia on the hill for the Yankees against Tampa Bay's David Price is the marquee game today. Out in LA you have a rematch of last year's NLCS with the Dodgers hosting the Phillies. The division-leading Rangers are in Boston to face the Red Sox, and the Cubs travel to Cincinnati to meet the Reds in another key matchup.
So let's be honest here. There's not a lot of interest as far as the season goes in today's contest in Houston between the Astros and Pirates. Yet with all due respect to Price and Sabathia, this might be the best pitching battle of the day in the end with Pittsburgh sending lefthander Paul Maholm (6-5, 3.82 ERA) to the mound against Roy Oswalt (5-6, 4.28).
The two NL Central bottom feeders are in the middle of the third series against each other this season, with Houston owning a 5-2 season record following last night's 9-1 Houston win. That left the Astros (24-29, -3.25 units) last in the division, a half-game behind the fifth-place Pirates (25-29, -3.65 units) and seven games back of the Brewers who are currently leading the division.
Despite this being the third series and the eighth game between the two teams, this will be the first time the teams' two aces have faced each other. Ok, ok. You can make a case for Zach Duke with the Pirates this season and Wandy Rodriguez for Houston as the respective aces. But I'll still take Maholm and Oswalt as the top arms in their respective rotations.
For the Bucs southpaw, he has a solid resume against the Astros over the past two seasons. In his last three starts vs. the Astros, Maholm has gone 23 innings while giving up just four earned (1.56) to help both him and Pitt 2-1 records in those outings. He worked seven frames last Sunday at home in Pittsburgh vs. the Astros giving up just one earned, and another unearned, in a 2-1 Pirates loss.
He was banged around pretty well by the 'Stros in his early days, which sounds weird to say for someone that will not be 27 until later this month. But he's since settled down and has pitched very well against the current roster. Houston hitters overall have combined to hit just .213 against Maholm (29-for-136) with no homers.
Coming off his best start of the season Monday against the Rockies in which he worked seven innings while giving up one run and striking out a season-high eight, is Oswalt turning the corner after another poor start? I'm not sure of that, but he's got a pretty nice opponent to face in the Pirates and at least make a second-consecutive strong showing.
Roy O met the Bucs twice in 2008, winning both starts. Included was a complete game shutout against the Pirates here in Houston. In his last nine starts vs. Pittsburgh, Oswalt is 6-1 personally with Houston 7-2, and the Wizard owning a 1.17 ERA.
The batter he'll face have hit .292 against him, though without a long ball. But if you look deeper into those stats, Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez are a combined .364 (35.for-96) against Oswalt over the years with the rest of the team hitting .213.
Charlie Reliford is next in the rotation for this umpire crew to work the plate, and the 20-year veteran field arbiter checks in with a 7-4 record this season in favor of the visitors on the moneyline. Interesting sidebar to that is home favorites are 4-2.
What interests me more is Reliford's 3-8 O/U mark, and 0-5 O/U with a total from 8½-10. Now if I could only figure out what they're going to do with the roof at Minute Maid.
The weather calls for a game time temp in the mid-to-upper 80s and not much chance for rain. Under similar conditions on Friday they left the roof open. If they do the same for Saturday, there is a SE wind (out to left-center) forecast at 10-12 MPH. It's a funny stadium, with dead-pull hitters from either side of the dish capable of yanking one out at anytime. A park that can produce homers yet plays neutral in terms of scoring the last few seasons is tough to cap.
Still, I'm banking on the pitchers in this one, that and the fact that while these offense are capable of exploding in any game, still rank in the lower half of the NL in scoring averages with Houston tied for 14th at 4.17 per game and Pittsburgh 10th at 4.45. Give me the Under 8½. The two teams against each other have gone 3-4 O/U if you had set 8 for a total in all games, and in this pitching matchup I like that trend to continue.
Win free SBR gear each Tuesday in the Tuesday Totals MLB Contest.
While attention is being paid to the pitching matchup in the Bronx today, don't forget the arms taking the hill at Minute Maid Park where the Houston Astros are hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates.
No doubt the Saturday afternoon game in New York with C.C. Sabathia on the hill for the Yankees against Tampa Bay's David Price is the marquee game today. Out in LA you have a rematch of last year's NLCS with the Dodgers hosting the Phillies. The division-leading Rangers are in Boston to face the Red Sox, and the Cubs travel to Cincinnati to meet the Reds in another key matchup.
So let's be honest here. There's not a lot of interest as far as the season goes in today's contest in Houston between the Astros and Pirates. Yet with all due respect to Price and Sabathia, this might be the best pitching battle of the day in the end with Pittsburgh sending lefthander Paul Maholm (6-5, 3.82 ERA) to the mound against Roy Oswalt (5-6, 4.28).
The two NL Central bottom feeders are in the middle of the third series against each other this season, with Houston owning a 5-2 season record following last night's 9-1 Houston win. That left the Astros (24-29, -3.25 units) last in the division, a half-game behind the fifth-place Pirates (25-29, -3.65 units) and seven games back of the Brewers who are currently leading the division.
Despite this being the third series and the eighth game between the two teams, this will be the first time the teams' two aces have faced each other. Ok, ok. You can make a case for Zach Duke with the Pirates this season and Wandy Rodriguez for Houston as the respective aces. But I'll still take Maholm and Oswalt as the top arms in their respective rotations.
For the Bucs southpaw, he has a solid resume against the Astros over the past two seasons. In his last three starts vs. the Astros, Maholm has gone 23 innings while giving up just four earned (1.56) to help both him and Pitt 2-1 records in those outings. He worked seven frames last Sunday at home in Pittsburgh vs. the Astros giving up just one earned, and another unearned, in a 2-1 Pirates loss.
He was banged around pretty well by the 'Stros in his early days, which sounds weird to say for someone that will not be 27 until later this month. But he's since settled down and has pitched very well against the current roster. Houston hitters overall have combined to hit just .213 against Maholm (29-for-136) with no homers.
Coming off his best start of the season Monday against the Rockies in which he worked seven innings while giving up one run and striking out a season-high eight, is Oswalt turning the corner after another poor start? I'm not sure of that, but he's got a pretty nice opponent to face in the Pirates and at least make a second-consecutive strong showing.
Roy O met the Bucs twice in 2008, winning both starts. Included was a complete game shutout against the Pirates here in Houston. In his last nine starts vs. Pittsburgh, Oswalt is 6-1 personally with Houston 7-2, and the Wizard owning a 1.17 ERA.
The batter he'll face have hit .292 against him, though without a long ball. But if you look deeper into those stats, Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez are a combined .364 (35.for-96) against Oswalt over the years with the rest of the team hitting .213.
Charlie Reliford is next in the rotation for this umpire crew to work the plate, and the 20-year veteran field arbiter checks in with a 7-4 record this season in favor of the visitors on the moneyline. Interesting sidebar to that is home favorites are 4-2.
What interests me more is Reliford's 3-8 O/U mark, and 0-5 O/U with a total from 8½-10. Now if I could only figure out what they're going to do with the roof at Minute Maid.
The weather calls for a game time temp in the mid-to-upper 80s and not much chance for rain. Under similar conditions on Friday they left the roof open. If they do the same for Saturday, there is a SE wind (out to left-center) forecast at 10-12 MPH. It's a funny stadium, with dead-pull hitters from either side of the dish capable of yanking one out at anytime. A park that can produce homers yet plays neutral in terms of scoring the last few seasons is tough to cap.
Still, I'm banking on the pitchers in this one, that and the fact that while these offense are capable of exploding in any game, still rank in the lower half of the NL in scoring averages with Houston tied for 14th at 4.17 per game and Pittsburgh 10th at 4.45. Give me the Under 8½. The two teams against each other have gone 3-4 O/U if you had set 8 for a total in all games, and in this pitching matchup I like that trend to continue.
Win free SBR gear each Tuesday in the Tuesday Totals MLB Contest.