Milwaukee @ Houston preview
Minute Maid Park
Last Meeting ( Sep 14, 2010 ) Milwaukee 2, Houston 3
Starting pitching has been the calling card for the Houston Astros over the last five weeks. They will call on their newest addition Wednesday to try and close a home season-series sweep against the Milwaukee Brewers.
After two dominating performances by Houston starters, J.A. Happ will attempt to make it six straight wins at Minute Maid Park this season against the struggling Brewers.
Brett Myers allowed just a run in seven innings in Monday’s 4-2 victory and fellow right-hander Bud Norris yielded just a run and three hits over 7 1/3 frames in a 3-2 triumph on Tuesday.
The starting rotation has a 2.53 ERA over its last 34 games. Houston has gone 22-12 in that stretch, the second-best record in the National League over that period. After starting the season 17-34, Houston has a record of 52-41.
Happ (6-2, 2.78 ERA), acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies in the Roy Oswalt deal on July 29, beat the Brewers 2-0 with six scoreless innings the next night.
The left-hander is 5-2 with a 3.08 ERA since joining Houston, and if an outing in which he was tagged for seven runs in one frame is taken away, Happ's ERA is 1.88. Furthermore, Happ’s career .730 winning percentage (19-7) is the best among all active starters with at least 25 starts.
Happ will face a club that has scored just six runs in their last five games and has lost 10 of 14 overall. The Brewers have gotten home runs this series from Corey Hart, Ryan Braun and Casey McGehee but little else.
Braun is hitless in six at-bats, including four strikeouts, against Happ.
Milwaukee will send Dave Bush (7-12, 4.59 ERA) to the mound in an attempt to avoid its second road series sweep in its last three series. The Cincinnati Reds swept three from Aug 28 – Sept. 1.
Bush has been extremely inconsistent this season. In five starts, he’s lasted just a total of 18 1/3 innings and been pounded for 32 earned runs, but the right-hander has a 3.15 ERA in his other 23 starts. Bush leads the staff with 17 quality starts, but Milwaukee is just 10-18 overall in his starts.
Bush dropped a 4-0 decision to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, allowing three runs – one earned - in 5 2/3 frames. He is 0-2 with a 4.09 ERA in four starts against Houston this season.