Houston @ San Francisco preview
Oracle Park
Last Meeting ( Apr 7, 2010 ) San Francisco 10, Houston 4
Lance Berkman and the Houston Astros are suddenly clicking.
The longtime first baseman has been a swinging a hot bat and the Astros have emerged from a horrendous start with four consecutive victories as they begin a three-game series tonight against the San Francisco Giants.
The Astros arrive in San Francisco feely giddy about themselves after an impressive three-game sweep of the National League Central-leading Cardinals in St. Louis.
Houston still possesses the worst record in the NL but has shown life during the recent spurt. And nobody has been hotter than Berkman, who was batting an embarrassing .175 before the streak began.
The five-time All-Star has gone 7 for 14 with five walks during the winning streak, which began Sunday with a late rally to beat the San Diego Padres. Berkman reached base in nine consecutive plate appearances before grounding out in his final at-bat Thursday.
The torrid stretch raised his season average to .239 and increases hope that Berkman is close to finding his solid batting stroke.
Berkman homered twice in the series against St. Louis but has just four this season. He’s hit 20 or more homers in all 10 of his previous full seasons in the majors.
Berkman isn’t the only Houston player swinging a hot stick. Right fielder Hunter Pence is 8-for-21 (.381) with three homers during a five-game hitting streak. Pence hit a three-run shot during Thursday’s victory.
Berkman has hit 11 career homers against the Giants, who will start Todd Wellemeyer in today’s opening game.
Wellemeyer (1-3) has a 5.97 ERA and has failed to make it through the fifth inning in four of six starts. He lasted just 4 1/3 innings against the New York Mets in his most-recent outing, giving up four runs, three hits and five walks.
Houston starter Felipe Paulino (0-5) was pounded twice by the Giants last season. Paulino had an 18.47 ERA in the two games, giving up 13 earned runs and 18 hits in just 6 1/3 innings.
The Astros have lost all six of Paulino’s starts this season. However, he’s coming off a solid outing against the Padres in which he struck out a career-high 11 in seven innings while allowing just one earned run and five hits in a 2-1 loss.
San Francisco’s Mark DeRosa is expected to miss the series with the Astros due to the wrist pain that kept him sidelined for the three-game series against San Diego.
The Giants are pondering whether or not to place DeRosa on the disabled list. He has just six hits in 48 at-bats over his past 12 games and is batting only .194 on the season.
San Francisco scored just four runs while being swept by the Padres. The Giants now trail San Diego by 3 1/2 games in the NL West.