Houston @ St. Louis preview
Busch Stadium
Last Meeting ( Apr 15, 2010 ) Houston 5, St. Louis 1
With quality starts in each of his first six outings and a 1.99 ERA, veteran right-hander Brad Penny has been everything the St. Louis Cardinals could have dreamed when they signed him in the offseason. But the Cardinals' offense has been more like a nightmare when Penny is on the mound.
The Cardinals have scored only 11 runs in Penny's six starts this year, a trend they hope to buck on Tuesday when they open a three-game series at home against the last-place Houston Astros.
Just how good has Penny been?
St. Louis has scored more than two runs for him on only one occasion, yet he still managed to string together three consecutive victories in April before losing his last two starts. Even in his two losses, Penny allowed only three runs over six innings each time, but the Cardinals managed only two runs in those games - including a 4-0 loss at the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday.
One of Penny's best outings of the year came against the Astros in a 2-1 win on April 14. In that one, Penny allowed three hits and didn't walk anyone, giving up just one unearned run in seven innings to outduel Houston starter Brett Myers, who will be his counterpart again on Tuesday.
Myers has gone six or more innings in each of his six starts, allowing only two runs in three of them, but he has only one win to show for it. His last time out, he took a no-decision despite giving up two runs on six hits over seven innings. He left with the game tied 2-2, and Carlos Lee won it with a walk-off homer.
In 14 appearances (12 starts) against the Cardinals, Myers is 4-3 with a 5.05 ERA. Penny is 2-2 with a 4.54 ERA in six starts against the Astros.
The Cardinals have seen a precipitous drop-off in their home run output over the past week. They hit 31 homers in their first 26 games, but haven't hit one in their past six, going 2-4 during that stretch. It's the team's longest drought without a homer since an eight-game stretch April 19-26, 2008.
If there's an opponent against whom the Cardinals could get away with their recent power outage, it's the Astros. Houston ranks last in the majors in batting average (.225) and runs (85). The Astros have lost 11 of 13 and have the worst record in the National League.