Milwaukee @ Houston preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 6, 2011 ) Milwaukee 7, Houston 5

THE STORY: The Milwaukee Brewers have become an unstoppable force on their way to back to the postseason. Of course, it helps to play the Houston Astros a few times along the way. Winners of 10 of their last 11 games, the Brewers have built up a three-game edge over the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central and have beaten the Astros five times already during that span. Host Houston has dropped six of eight and will send Bud Norris to the mound Sunday afternoon hoping to avoid another sweep against visiting Milwaukee.

TV: 2:05 p.m. ET, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), FS Houston

PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros RH Bud Norris (5-7, 3.47 ERA) vs. Brewers RH Zack Greinke (9-4, 4.41).

Norris has had some blister issues lately, leaving each of his last two starts early because of the problem on his pitching hand. The 26-year old is winless in his last four starts despite allowing three earned runs or less in each of his last three turns. Norris dominated Milwaukee on May 1, yielding only three hits while striking out 11 in 7 2/3 innings, and is 3-0 with a 2.32 ERA in five career starts against the division rivals. Greinke has brought his ERA down over the last month by surrendering two earned runs or less in each of his last five turns. The former American League Cy Young Award winner beat the Cardinals with six strong innings Monday. Greinke faced Houston once with the Kansas City Royals during interleague play and allowed one run in eight innings to earn the win.

ABOUT THE ASTROS (37-76): Houston is finally embracing a full-scale rebuilding effort and the results are showing on the field - if not in the win column. Rookie second baseman Jose Altuve went 1-for-3 on Saturday and is batting .316 in his first 16 major league games. Another recent call-up - J.D. Martinez - hit a three-run home run Saturday and has homered twice in his first seven games. Those two will get plenty of chances the rest of the way as Houston searches for new faces of the franchise after dealing away Michael Bourn and Hunter Pence.

ABOUT THE BREWERS (64-50): Milwaukee has feasted on the bottom of the league lately, beating the Astros five times and sweeping a three-game set from the fifth-place Chicago Cubs during its recent spurt. The only winning team in that span was St. Louis, from which the Brewers took two out of three at home earlier in the week. Milwaukee has another showdown looming with the Cardinals starting Tuesday, this time at St. Louis. Despite their first-place status, the Brewers are still only 23-35 on the road. But Minute Maid Park has not presented a problem over the past two nights. After an 8-1 drubbing in the series opener Friday, Milwaukee rode Prince Fielder to a 7-5 triumph on Saturday. The All-Star slugger drove in four runs and came up a triple shy of the cycle while reaching base in all five of his trips to the plate.

FINAL PITCH: Houston on Saturday optioned lefthander J.A. Happ to Triple A Oklahoma City. The centerpiece of a trade that sent franchise icon Roy Oswalt to Philadelphia last summer, Happ has gone 4-14 with a 6.26 ERA in 22 starts this season. He was lit up for six earned runs in four innings Friday by the Brewers.