Pittsburgh @ Houston preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 16, 2011 ) Pittsburgh 4, Houston 6

THE STORY: The Pittsburgh Pirates haven’t lost two straight since the middle of June. They have a good shot at avoiding that fate Sunday as Kevin Correia, the best road pitcher in baseball, takes the hill against the Houston Astros. The Astros ended a five-game skid Saturday thanks to a three-run eighth inning. Pittsburgh has won eight of the last 11 meetings with Houston, which has the worst record in the majors.

TV: 2:05 pm. ET, FS Houston, ROOT (Pittsburgh)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros LH Wandy Rodriguez (6-6, 3.52 ERA) vs. Pirates RH Kevin Correia (11-7, 4.01).

Rodriguez has allowed 10 runs in 11 1/3 innings over his last two starts - both losses, but the lefthander is 5-2 with a 2.68 ERA in his last seven starts against the Pirates. His seven wins against Pittsburgh are tied for the most he has against any team. Lyle Overbay is 7-for-15 against Rodriguez and Brandon Wood has four hits in five at bats against him. Correia is one win shy of matching his career high of 12 victories set in 2009. Nine of his wins have come on the road, where he has a 2.71 ERA and two losses in 11 starts. Correia will be pitching on two extra days' rest, the result of being a late addition to the National League All-Star team. He didn’t pitch like an All-Star his last time out, though. The righthander allowed five runs and nine hits in 3 2/3 innings - his shortest outing of the season - in a 6-3 loss to the Cubs on July 9. Correia is 0-1 with a 3.64 ERA in eight appearances against Houston.

ABOUT THE ASTROS (31-63): Houston is coming off only its second win of the month. The Astros have had two five-game losing streaks, both of which were ended with wins over Pittsburgh. Humberto Quintero and Michael Bourn each had RBI singles in the eighth inning to help Houston win for only the third time in 49 games when trailing after six innings. Little-used closer Mark Melancon earned his first save since June 8. While it’s true the Astros have many deficiencies, they have excelled in one area - pinch-hitting. Houston pinch-hitters entered Saturday second in the NL with a .273 average and fifth in the league in home runs (five).

ABOUT THE PIRATES (48-44): Pittsburgh’s stay atop the NL Central lasted only one day, but Pirates fans have to be ecstatic their team was there this late in the season. Pittsburgh appeared to be headed toward its 14th win in 20 games when Neil Walker’s RBI single gave the Pirates a 4-3 lead in the sixth Saturday, but the normally dependable bullpen couldn’t hang on. The Pirates, who are playing their best baseball since the mid-1990s, look to avoid losing two straight for the first time since a four-game skid from June 17-20. Walker homered in the fifth Saturday, extending his hitting streak to 10 games. His 62 RBIs are tied for fifth-best in the NL.

FINAL PITCH: Pirates’ All-Star Andrew McCutchen entered Saturday tied with Texas Rangers’ teammates Josh Hamilton and Adrian Beltre for the major league lead in RBIs this month with 15.