Houston @ Arizona preview
Chase Field
Last Meeting ( Sep 4, 2010 ) Houston 6, Arizona 5
The Houston Astros continued their great second half of the season with a dramatic win Saturday night and they look to build on that for Sunday’s rubber match with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Houston (63-72) needed a huge three-run home run from Carlos Lee in the eighth inning to come from behind to down the Diamondbacks 6-5 on Friday. The Astros had a tough time getting anything going until Arizona went to its bullpen, while Houston’s relief corps continues to be one of the reasons for the team’s turnaround.
Houston was just 36-53 in the first half but has been an entirely different team since then, going eight games above .500.
J.A. Happ (5-2, 2.89 ERA) looks to keep it going on Sunday. Happ climbs the hill still riding the good vibes from his last start, which was likely the best of his season.
The 6-foot-6 lefty fired a complete-game two-hitter in stifling the St. Louis Cardinals’ potent offense earlier in the week, winning 3-0 while striking out four and walking one on 114 pitches. It was Happ’s third win in four outings, during which he hasn’t allowed more than three runs in a start.
The last time Happ faced the Diamondbacks was in August 2009 when he was still wearing a Philadelphia Phillies uniform. He allowed two runs over six innings and dropped a 4-0 decision.
If he needs some help this time around, Houston’s bullpen has his back. The club’s relievers have a sparkling 0.72 ERA over their last 12 games. The team’s ’pen kept them in Saturday’s game just long enough for Lee to pull them ahead, as four relievers combined to work 4 1/3 scoreless innings after Bud Norris hit the showers early.
Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks (56-80) counter with the struggling Rodrigo Lopez (5-12, 5.24 ERA). Lopez has dropped three of his last four starts and hasn’t won a game since way back on July 8. He is coming off another short outing his last time out, handing the ball over after allowing five runs in four innings during a loss to the San Francisco Giants. Over his last nine starts Lopez is 0-5 with a 7.62 ERA.
Arizona heads into today’s game having won seven of its last nine games but will need to make more of its scoring opportunities after Saturday’s showing. The Diamondbacks were just 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position.
Right fielder Justin Upton, who has missed the last three games with a shoulder problem, is scheduled to return to the lineup today. He is hitting .275 with 17 home runs and 68 RBIs this season.