Houston @ Pittsburgh preview
PNC Park
Last Meeting ( Aug 31, 2011 ) Pittsburgh 0, Houston 2
THE STORY: The Pittsburgh Pirates likely will not break their streak of 18 consecutive losing seasons. Then again, at least they’re not the Houston Astros. The Pirates have fallen off a cliff over the last six weeks and now need a miracle to make it back to .500. The Astros are not only assured of a losing season but are creeping up on the franchise’s first 100-loss season. One team Houston has handled recently, though, is Pittsburgh, which was swept in a three-game set at Minute Maid Park last week. The Pirates will be hoping for a different result at home when they send James McDonald to the mound for the opener of a three-game series at PNC Park on Monday afternoon.
TV: 1:35 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), FSH (Houston)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH James McDonald (8-7, 4.11 ERA) vs. Astros RH Henry Sosa (2-2, 4.34 ERA).
McDonald lost to Houston last Wednesday despite allowing only two runs - one earned - and seven hits in six innings. The righthander from Long Beach, Calif., has put up a quality start in each of his last three turns but does not have a win in that span. McDonald has faced Houston five times - four starts - in his career and has posted a 1-1 record with a 3.74 ERA.
Sosa is one of several players on the Astros hoping to impress the coaching staff down the stretch and earn himself a spot in the 2012 rotation. The 26-year-old rookie has been strong lately, allowing a total of two earned runs over 12 innings to earn wins in each of his last two turns. Sosa struck out a career-high seven while issuing only two hits and one walk in beating Pittsburgh last Tuesday.
ABOUT THE PIRATES (64-76): Since beating the Atlanta Braves on July 25 to pull to 53-47 on the season, Pittsburgh has lost 29 of 40 games. The strong starting pitching that drove the team for the first four months has regressed along with the offense, which stalled despite importing veterans like Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick at the trade deadline. The Pirates nearly pulled off a sweep of the Chicago Cubs over the weekend, taking the first two of the three-game set, but suffered a 6-3 loss in Sunday’s finale. Charlie Morton struggled through 4 1/3 innings and the lineup failed to generate much against Randy Wells. Lee, who hit a grand slam in his return from the disabled list on Saturday, went 3-for-4 on Sunday.
ABOUT THE ASTROS (47-93): Houston was feeling good after taking out the Pirates last week but was quickly brought back down to earth by the first-place Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers outscored the Astros 20-4 in sweeping the three-game weekend series, including a 4-0 shutout in Sunday’s finale. Houston managed just three hits in that contest while striking out a total of 10 times. Houston’s franchise record for losses is 97, set in 1965 and matched in 1975 and 1991. Brett Wallace got his first start on Saturday since being recalled following a month-long demotion to the minors. The once-highly-touted prospect went 0-for-4 with a strikeout to drop his average to .263.
FINAL PITCH: Pittsburgh righthander Jeff Karstens announced on Sunday that he will miss his next start on Wednesday due to arm soreness. The 28-year-old, who flirted with the NL ERA lead in July, has taken the loss in three of his last four decisions.