Houston @ Chicago preview
Wrigley Field
Last Meeting ( Jun 6, 2010 ) Chi. Cubs 3, Houston 6
The Houston Astros are the worst offensive team in the National League. They are at the bottom of the league in average (.236), home runs (59), hits (719) and on-base percentage (.294).
And, on Sunday, they were shut out by Pittsburgh Pirates left-hander Paul Maholm.
But, as the Astros travel to Chicago for a three-game series with the Cubs beginning on Monday night, they have something going in their favor.
Houston left-hander Wandy Rodriguez ended the first half of the season pitching as well as anybody in the majors. And he takes the mound for the Astros in the series opener.
The Cubs will counter with right-hander Carlos Silva.
In his last four starts, Rodriguez has gone 3-1 with a 1.73 ERA. He lost his last start against the St. Louis Cardinals after pitching six innings, allowing three runs and four hits with two walks and six strikeouts.
Rodriguez has pitched well at Wrigley Field, too, as he hasn’t lost a game at the historic landmark since April 15, 2007. When he started at Wrigley earlier this season on April 18, Rodriguez guided the Astros to a victory. The hurler pitched seven innings, permitting two runs on six hits with a walk and three strikeouts.
The Astros will need another dominant start from Rodriguez because, as stated, the offense has struggled. Houston managed only three hits Sunday, including two from shortstop Angel Sanchez. Chris Johnson got the other hit for the Astros, who saw their first five hitters go a combined 0-for-17.
It won’t be easy for Houston to get going against Silva, either. Silva had a rough outing in his final start before the break, giving up six runs over only 1 1/3 innings in what became a 7-0 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Prior to that, Silva went at least six innings in his previous seven starts, allowing three or more runs only once over that stretch. On April 16 in Chicago, Silva won his first game of the season by pitching seven innings, allowing two runs (none earned) and five hits with no walks and five strikeouts.
Offensively, the Cubs have done well since the All-Star break, helping them win three of their first four games. In fact, since July 9, the Cubs have scored an average of six runs.
On Sunday night against Roy Halladay and the Philadelphia Phillies, the Cubs scored four runs in the second inning, and then five in the seventh en route to an 11-6 victory.
Geovany Soto and Alfonso Soriano both homered and rookies Tyler Colvin and Starlin Castro each had three hits for the Cubs.