Houston @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 4, 2012 ) Houston 2, Pittsburgh 6

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ decline came in the midst of Andrew McCutchen’s dry spell. The Pirates star busted out in a big way with his major-league leading sixth four-hit outing of the season in Tuesday’s victory and seeks another strong game when Pittsburgh closes a three-game series with the Houston Astros. McCutchen batted .446 in July when the Pirates were flying high before falling to a .252 mark in August. Tuesday’s win was only Pittsburgh’s eighth in 25 games.

The Pirates are 2 1/2 games out of the National League’s second wild-card spot after snapping a four-game skid. Rookie second baseman Brock Holt – making his third major-league start -- joined McCutchen with four hits as Pittsburgh beat Houston for the 10th time in 13 meeting this season. Houston hasn’t won back-to-back games since August 10-11 and has lost 17 of its last 21 games. The Astros are just 14-54 on the road.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Houston, ROOT (Pittsburgh)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros LH Fernando Abad (0-2, 4.83 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Kevin Correia (9-8, 4.40)

Abad is making his third major-league start after 81 career relief appearances. He allowed six runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings while losing to the Cincinnati Reds in his last start. He is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA in eight career appearances against the Pirates.

Correia is starting in place of Jeff Karstens, who left his last outing with a hip flexor. He pitched four scoreless innings of relief in that contest against the Milwaukee Brewers. Correia is 1-1 with a 4.53 ERA in 11 career appearances (six starts) against Houston.

WALK-OFFS

1. Pittsburgh 2B Neil Walker (back) has missed eight consecutive games and hopes to return to the lineup during a weekend series against the Chicago Cubs.

2. Houston 2B Jose Altuve is 3-for-9 in the series to follow a 3-for-32 funk over a nine-game stretch.

3. Pirates 3B Pedro Alvarez, the reigning NL Player of the Week, is 2-for-2 with five RBIs against Abad.