Houston @ Milwaukee preview
American Family Field
Last Meeting ( Aug 6, 2010 ) Houston 5, Milwaukee 6
The Milwaukee Brewers have been taking their lumps from the Houston Astros recently and were just two outs away from a fourth loss in eight days to their NL Central counterparts on Friday night.
But the Astros never got another out and the Brewers exacted some revenge with an incredible game-winning rally.
Milwaukee pushed across four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to pull out a dramatic 6-5 victory. The Brewers will look to ride that momentum into Saturday’s second contest of the three-game series at Miller Park.
The Astros were closing in on their eighth win in nine games when the Brewers erupted against Matt Lindstrom, who hadn’t blown a save since June 20.
Pinch-hitter Joe Inglett belted his first homer since 2008 with a two-run shot to pull the Brewers within one. Three batters later, Prince Fielder delivered a two-run single to give Milwaukee its fourth win in five games.
Suddenly, it’s a different feeling for Fielder and the Brewers as they enter Saturday’s outing against consistent Astros hurler Brett Myers.
Fielder had three RBIs in Friday’s game and is batting .444 (12-for-27) with nine RBIs over the past six games - even without hitting any homers.
Fielder has gone deep three times against Myers in 10 career at-bats, including a two-homer game in late June that represents the hurler's worst outing of the campaign.
Myers was touched up for seven runs and nine hits in six innings of a 7-5 loss. He allowed four homers, a shocking development considering he has given up only nine in his other 21 starts.
Myers hasn’t lost since, going 3-0 over his last six starts. He has allowed two runs or less in each of those outings to raise his record to 8-6 and lower his ERA to 3.10.
Myers has gone at least six innings in all 22 starts this season. He is 4-2 lifetime with a 3.02 ERA against Milwaukee.
Former Philadelphia Phillies teammate, Randy Wolf, will be on the mound for the Brewers on Saturday.
Wolf pitched well against the Astros last Sunday, allowing just one run and six hits in six-plus innings. The hurler had to leave the game after being hit on the wrist by a batted ball from Hunter Pence that went for an infield single.
In addition to last Sunday’s strong outing – Wolf took a no-decision in a game won by Houston – the left-hander limited the Astros to four hits over seven shutout innings in late May.
Wolf (7-9, 4.91 ERA) is 5-5 with a 3.49 ERA in 15 career starts against the Astros.
Houston third baseman Chris Johnson continued his hot hitting Friday by going 2-for-5. Johnson has 10 multiple-hit games in his last 16 outings and is batting .450 (27-for-60) during that span. Johnson is hitting .351 overall.
Milwaukee placed center fielder Carlos Gomez on the disabled list. Gomez suffered a concussion when he was hit in the head by a pitch last Monday by Chicago Cubs pitcher Brian Schlitter.