Houston @ Milwaukee preview
American Family Field
Last Meeting ( Sep 20, 2009 ) Houston 0, Milwaukee 6
The Houston Astros are already having big trouble winning games, now they have to worry about losing their best pitcher.
With the Roy Oswalt trade watch in full swing, the Astros head to Milwaukee to face the Brewers in the start of a three-game series Tuesday at Miller Park.
Speculation about a landing spot for the Astro ace will intensify until general manager Ed Wade pulls the trigger. News of Oswalt's request broke Friday and Houston went out and posted a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, who boast the best record in baseball.
But order was restored over the weekend as the Rays won the final two games of the interleague series and now Astro fans turn their attention to teams like the Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers, Rays, New York Yankees, New York Mets and Boston Red Sox to see what kind of prospects they can get in return for Oswalt.
Oswalt has made nine straight quality starts to open the season but is 2-6 despite a stellar ERA of 2.66. Part of his frustration and desire to play somewhere else stems from the fact that he has received the lowest run support in the league.
Scheduled to start Wednesday against Milwaukee, Oswalt is tied for sixth in the NL with 60 strikeouts and has allowed 16 walks in 61.0 innings.
Felipe Paulno (0-6, 5.36) starts for Houston and is searching not only for his first victory of the season, but also the first win of his career against the Brewers. Paulino is 0-3 with an ERA of 8.53 in four appearances, including three starts vs. Milwaukee.
The only thing keeping the Brewers from being the worst team in the National League is the Astros, but Milwaukee is by far the worst home team in baseball with just four wins in 18 games at Miller Park.
Just 2-8 in their last 10 games overall, the Brewers have lost eight straight at home and have not had a victory at Miller Park since a 17-3 drubbing of the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 26.
Randy Wolf (3-4, 5.10) gets the call to try and get Milwaukee off its slide, but the veteran has been reeling of late himself. The left-hander has lasted just 11 1/3 innings in his last two outings having allowed 12 runs and 17 hits in losses to NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies and division-rival Pirates.
Pitching has been a major issue for the Brewers this season as the inability of their starters to consistently go deep in games has put pressure on the bullpen. The Milwaukee relief corps has also been spotty this season, especially veteran closer Trevor Hoffman.
Closing in on 600 career saves, Hoffman has blown half of his 10 save chances to start the season and was used in a setup role Sunday at the Minnesota Twins after being given four days off.