Cincinnati @ Houston preview
Minute Maid Park
Last Meeting ( Apr 28, 2010 ) Cincinnati 6, Houston 4
The Cincinnati Reds have gotten two solid performances in a row from their starting pitchers. A third would push their winning streak to a season-high four games.
The Reds will be looking for a sweep of the three-game series when they face the Houston Astros on Thursday.
Aaron Harang earned his first win with six strong innings on Tuesday and rookie phenom Mike Leake became the first of Cincinnati's starters to post his second win of the season with seven innings of one-run ball on Wednesday. The strong outings marked the first time this season that the Reds have gotten wins out of their starters two days in a row.
In fact, Leake was the only Cincinnati starter to own even one win prior to Harang's outing on Tuesday.
Bronson Arroyo will be the next Reds starter looking to turn his season around. The veteran right-hander is no stranger to slow starts. He owned an 8.63 ERA on May 4, 2008 before bringing it down to 4.77 and sat at 7.15 on May 6 last season but brought it all the down to 3.84 to the end of the campaign.
This season Arroyo is parked at 7.43 after blowing up against the San Diego Padres last week to the tune of eight runs and eight hits in three innings to watch his record fall to 0-2. Arroyo did not strike out a batter against the Padres, marking the first time he has failed to record a punchout in an outing lasting more than 1 1/3 since May 26, 2007.
The 33-year-old is quite familiar with the Astros, holding an 8-6 career record with a 4.90 ERA in 23 games - 17 starts - against the division foes.
Houston will counter with ace Roy Oswalt. The right-hander returned to the team on Tuesday after spending several days in his home state of Mississippi aiding in relief efforts after a series of tornadoes caused massive damage.
Oswalt's childhood home in Weir, Mississippi was destroyed by one of the tornandoes. His mother, Pearl, was in the house with her dog at the time and escaped relatively unscathed, though most of her possessions were destroyed.
The veteran insists his mind will be on the mound on Thursday, however. Oswalt has been strong in his last two starts, allowing two runs in 14 total innings to earn back-to-back wins.
The Reds have been the favorite whipping boys of Oswalt over the years, with the ace owning a 23-1 record with a 2.58 ERA in 32 games - 30 start