Houston @ Pittsburgh preview
PNC Park
Last Meeting ( Jul 17, 2010 ) Houston 6, Pittsburgh 12
The trade deadline is bearing down and Roy Oswalt is on the block.
The ace right-hander will be looking to impress all potential suitors when the Houston Astros close out a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday.
Oswalt ascended to “best available starter” status when Cliff Lee was sent to the Texas Rangers just before the All-Star break, bringing the number of potential clients for his services up. Plenty of teams are in need of a front-line starter – a description that Oswalt has fit for years.
A lifelong Astro since being drafted by the club in 23rd round in 1996, Oswalt has 143 career wins – one behind Joe Niekro for the franchise lead – and ranks second in team history in strikeouts and third in innings pitched.
His status within the clubhouse is matched only by Lance Berkman, but with Houston among the worst teams in baseball this season and the farm system a mess, a rebuilding cycle is long overdue.
The one problem with trading Oswalt is his salary, which is $16 million for next season with a club option for another $16 million in 2012. The Mississippi native also holds a full no-trade clause and could require any team that trades for him to pick up his 2012 option before he agrees to waive the clause.
Not too many teams are flush with cash these days, so if Houston wants to get a handful of top prospects back in return, the club will likely have to eat a chunk of the money remaining on his contract, something owner Drayton McLane has been unwilling to do in the past. McLane is also one of Oswalt’s biggest fans and is in no hurry to move one of his franchise cornerstones.
Oswalt has put on a show in his past two starts, allowing three hits in seven scoreless innings at San Diego on July 2 and dominating the Pirates on July 9 in a one-hit shutout. He struck out eight and walked two in that start – his first complete game of the season.
The Pirates have never posed much of a challenge for the 32-year-old Oswalt, who owns a 15-7 career record with a 2.50 ERA in 28 career games – 27 starts – against the division rivals.
The Astros took the first game of the series but the Pirates battled back on Saturday, reaching a season high in runs scored with a 12-6 rout. Neil Walker, Jose Tabata and Lastings Milledge each drove in a pair and Garrett Jones and Pedro Alvarez added two hits and an RBI apiece.
Pittsburgh will send left-hander Paul Maholm to the mound today. The 28-year-old has been up and down of late, getting knocked out in the first inning on June 23 and in the third inning on July 3, but allowing three earned runs in 15 innings in two other starts during that span.
Maholm dropped his lone start against the Astros this season, allowing four runs – two earned – and six hits back on April 23. Maholm is 8-5 with a 3.90 ERA in 14 career starts against Houston.