Atlanta @ Houston preview
Minute Maid Park
Last Meeting ( Aug 9, 2010 ) Atlanta 4, Houston 10
The prize of the Roy Oswalt trade for the Houston Astros was J.A. Happ. The left-hander played a key role in helping the Philadelphia Phillies reach the World Series last year.
In his first two starts with the Astros, Happ couldn’t have had differing performances. He tossed six scoreless innings in his debut, and followed that up by allowing seven runs in one inning.
Happ will try and regroup for his third start in an Astros uniform, as he takes the hill against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night. The Braves will counter with right-hander Jair Jurrjens.
In his last start against the St. Louis Cardinals, Happ allowed seven runs and six hits with three walks and a strikeout. Against the Brewers on July 30, Happ threw six scoreless innings, allowing only two hits with four walks and six strikeouts.
Happ has made only five starts so far this season, as he had been sidelined with a left forearm strain. Lifetime against the Braves, Happ is 2-0 with a 2.23 ERA in six games.
Offensively, the Astros had one of their better performances of the season in a 10-4 victory on Monday. They scored three runs in the fourth and six in the seventh to run away with what had been a close game.
Jeff Keppinger, Michael Bourn, Carlos Lee, Chris Johnson and Brett Wallace all had two hits a piece for Houston, which snapped a four-game losing streak.
Jurrjens, meanwhile, has pitched well of late for the Braves, going 4-1 with a 3.45 ERA in his last seven starts.
Similar to Happ, Jurrjens has missed significant time this season because of an injury, as he has battled a strained left hamstring.
In his last start against the San Francisco Giants on Thursday, Jurrjens allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings.
Since returning from the disabled list on June 30, Jurrjens has gone at least five innings in all of his starts - and six or more innings in his past seven starts.
In his lone career start against the Astros, Jurrjens lasted only two innings, allowing a run and four hits.
Offensively, the Braves couldn’t keep up with the Astros late in Monday’s game. Still, rookie Jason Heyward belted his 12th home run of the season and All-Star Brian McCann added a two-run home run.
The Braves finished the game 1-for-3 with runners in scoring position, and left five men on base.