Milwaukee @ Houston preview
Minute Maid Park
Last Meeting ( Aug 7, 2011 ) Milwaukee 7, Houston 3
THE STORY: The National League Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers haven’t lost four straight since early July. Facing the major league-worst Houston Astros with their ace on the hill should help them avoid that fate. Zack Greinke will try to guide the visiting Brewers to a sixth straight win over the Astros on Friday. Milwaukee, which is coming off a home sweep at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals, has won nine of the 12 meetings with Houston this season. The Brewers outscored the Astros by a 22-9 margin while completing their first-ever sweep in Houston last month.
TV: 8:05 pm. ET, Fox Sports Wisconsin
PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers RH Zack Greinke (13-5, 4.05 ERA) vs. Astros RH Lucas Harrell (0-0, 7.20 ERA).
Greinke is a different pitcher on the road than at Miller Park. The righthander improved to 10-0 at home on Sunday by allowing one run and four hits in 7 2/3 innings in a win against the Chicago Cubs. The victory was his sixth win in seven starts. That success hasn’t translated on the road, where he is 3-5 with a 5.56 ERA. Greinke is 2-0 with a 1.20 ERA in two starts versus Houston.
Harrell will make his fourth career start after being called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City. The 26-year-old was 5-1 with a 1.72 ERA in nine starts with Oklahoma City. Harrell appeared in three games with the White Sox before being claimed off waivers on July 8. He is making a spot start for Brett Myers, who is on paternity leave.
ABOUT THE ASTROS (47-90): The Astros may have the worst record in baseball, but they are playing much better of late. Houston, which has won five of seven, is coming off just its second series sweep of the season and its first home sweep since Aug. 30-Sept. 1, 2010. Carlos Lee is hitting .477 (21-for-44) with two homers and seven RBIs during a season-high 12-game hitting streak. Astros’ pitchers have recorded a 1.87 ERA over the last six games. Left fielder J.D. Martinez set a rookie franchise record for RBIs in a month with 28 in August.
ABOUT THE BREWERS (81-57): Milwaukee was swept at home for the first time since Aug. 24-26, 2010. The Brewers are now on the verge of losing four straight for the first time in two months (June 28-July 1). Milwaukee still leads St. Louis by 7 1/2 games and is closing in on its first division title since 1982. Milwaukee’s struggles on the road (31-38) are well documented, but the Brewers have turned it around away from home recently. Milwaukee has won 15 of its last 22 away from Miller Park. Prince Fielder became the first player in franchise history to hit at least 30 homers in five straight seasons with a solo homer on Thursday. Fielder is second in the NL with 103 RBIs.
FINAL PITCH: The Brewers are the first team in major league history to have a pitcher hit a grand slam (Shaun Marcum – July 4) and allow a pitcher to hit a grand slam in the same season (Jake Westbrook – Wednesday).