Houston @ St. Louis preview
Busch Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jul 25, 2011 ) Houston 5, St. Louis 10
THE STORY: Hoping to prey upon the worst team in baseball and break free from a logjam atop the National League Central, the St. Louis Cardinals host the last-place Houston Astros in the second of a four-game series on Tuesday night. The Cardinals benefited from homers from Yadier Molina and Colby Rasmus to cruise to a 10-5 win in Monday's opener. St. Louis is currently tied with the Pittsburgh Pirates for first place in the division, with the Milwaukee Brewers a half-game back.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, Fox Sports, Dish 446 & 9514, DirecTV 678 (Houston), Fox Sports (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUPS: Astros RH Brett Myers (3-10, 4.74 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Jake Westbrook (8-4, 5.04 ERA)
The inconsistent Myers had lost four straight starts before partially righting the ship with a quality start and a no-decision against the Washington Nationals on Wednesday. He permitted two runs on eight hits in seven innings. Myers is just 1-6 in his last nine outings, a skid that began with a loss to St. Louis on June 7. In 18 career games - 16 starts - against the Cardinals, Myers is 6-4 with a 4.64 ERA. All-Star outfielder Lance Berkman is just 4-for-21 (.190) against Myers, but he has seven walks and two of his four hits have been home runs.
No pitcher in baseball has gotten better run support than Westbrook (8.78 runs per nine innings). As a result, he has posted a 6-1 mark since May 11. He has only finished the sixth inning three times in his last 10 starts, but he is coming off of a solid eight-frame effort against the New York Mets on Thursday. Westbrook is 1-2 with a 4.37 ERA in four career starts against Houston, but the win came this year when he allowed three runs in 5 1/3 innings on June 7.
ABOUT THE ASTROS (33-69): Houston is now on a 110-loss pace after dropping four straight and 35 of its last 45, but the team's new owners appear to be committed to rebuilding around outfielder Hunter Pence. He leads the Astros with a .308 batting average, 11 home runs and 62 RBIs. Outfielder Carlos Lee is 5-for-12 over the last three games with two homers - including a grand slam - in Monday's loss. He has raised his batting average by 83 points (from .194 to .277) since a frigid April and now ranks second on the club with 57 RBIs.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS (54-48): The potent St. Louis lineup, which leads the National League in runs scored, batting average and on-base percentage, was at it again on Monday. The Cardinals pounded out 12 hits against Houston's beleaguered pitching staff. Berkman (27 HR, 69 RBIs), the team's top power producer, did not play on Monday, but the Cardinals have had no shortage of contributors — 11 different players have driven in 22 runs or more in 2011. St. Louis has scored 58 runs in nine games against the Astros this year.
FINAL PITCH: Houston hasn't had many leads to preserve of late, but the bullpen hasn't been great about keeping those precious few safe. The Astros have converted just 12 of 31 save opportunities, easily the worst rate in baseball.