By Craig the Bastard
Well, with all the half-assed play on the 2-4 road trip, we?re still only a game and a half back of the Phillies. And one back of the Fish, and tied with the Mess. And the gNats are only one more game back.
The Reds have won four straight, and 8 of their last 10 games. In fact, they?ve even passed the Cubs in the standings. Heh.
When:
Tuesday, August 30, 7:05 p.m. CDT ? FSN-HD
Wednesday, August 31, 7:05 p.m. CDT ? FSN-HD
Thursday, September 1, 7:05 p.m. CDT ? FSN-HD
MLB Extra Innings ? All three games will be on the Fox Southwest feed.
Where: MMPUS
The Astros are 9-4-1 against the Reds this year. And if we?re going to stay in the wildcard race, we better get some wins now, because there is nothing but playoff contenders on the horizon for the next two weeks.
If you go to Thursday?s game, you?ll get a good shot at seeing history made ? Ken Griffey Jr. playing in the month of September.
Projected Matchups
Brandon Claussen (9-8, 4.29) v. Wandy Rodriguez (8-6, 6.16)
Claussen is 0-2 against the Astros, but his ERA against us is only 0.79 over 11 innings. Everett, Berkman, Lane, Viz, Burke, Bruntlett, and Lamb are a combined 0-for-26 against Claussen. Willy T is 2-for-3, and Ausmus is 3-for-3. Too bad Roger isn?t pitching today because he?s 1-for-2 against Claussen.
Wandy hasn?t started since Aug. 15, but he did manage to give up three earned runs and a loss in 1/3 inning of relief in San Diego. He does have a win against the Reds this season. Wily Mo Pena is 2-for-3 against Wandy, with a double and a homer. Rich Aurilia also has a homer off him.
Aaron Harang (9-11, 3.68) v. Andy Pettitte (12-9, 2.60)
Harang is 2-4 against the Astros, with an ERA above 5. The Astros overall are 46-for-149 (.309) against him, with 8 homers. Biggio is 8-for-23 (.348) and Adam Everett is 6-for-14 (.429) with a homer. Berkman is 3-for-16, but all 3 hits were homers. So as always, watch for Haranging Curveballs.
Andy has won his last two starts, and he?s 1-1 this year against the Reds. Griffey is 14-for-36 (.389) against Pettitte, and Sean Casey is 7-for-13 (.538). Current Reds are 40-for-124 (.323) against Andy, but they only have one homer.
Eric Milton (7-12, 6.21) v. Roy Oswalt (15-11, 2.94)
Milton is 3-1 against the Astros, and 1-1 this year. Biggio is only 4-for-23 (.174) against him, but Ensberg is 6-for-11 with two homers, and Ausmus is 8-for-25 with one homer. Chris Burke is also 3-for-7 against Milton.
Oswalt got pounded by the Dodgers in his last start. But he?s also 14-0 against the Reds, including 3-0 this season. Some of the Reds hit him well, including Jason LaRue (7-for-22), Felipe Lopez (5-for-15), and Jacob Cruz (4-for-6). Adam Dunn is 9-for-42 with 12 strikeouts.
Key injuries:
Cincinnati ? Ryan Freel, Ryan Wagner, Josh Hancock, and Jung Bong are chillin? on the DL, and might be back in September. Luis Lopez and Stifler?s Mom are out for the season.
Houston ? Backe and Bagwell are on a mission to find their inner Hooks.
Other shit
? Do you ever just totally forget to watch an Astros game? That happened to me Sunday. I mean, I know all the start times and TV channels because I write the previews. But once in a great while, I just totally fucking forget. This usually corresponds with a stretch of half-assed Astros games.
? One nice thing about getting the Dodgers? broadcasts is that I get to listen to Vin Scully. But he mispronounces half the names! Even the easy ones. In Friday?s game alone I heard about Oz-walt, Ow-smus, Beegio, Palmeero, and Tavahras. And what?s weird is that sometimes he gets them right.
