Atlanta @ Houston preview
Minute Maid Park
Last Meeting ( Aug 10, 2010 ) Atlanta 4, Houston 2
In his last four starts, Atlanta Braves right-hander Tommy Hanson has a 1.69 ERA – and zero wins and two losses.
The Braves will try to provide Hanson with more run support on Wednesday afternoon when he takes the hill against the Houston Astros in a three-game series finale. The Astros will counter with left-hander Wandy Rodriguez.
In his last start against the San Francisco Giants, Hanson went seven innings, allowing one run with two walks and three strikeouts. He took a no-decision in what became a Braves’ 3-2 loss.
In his start before that, against the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 1, Hanson went 7 1/3 innings, allowing two runs (one earned) and ending up with the loss as the Braves fell 2-1.
Despite not finding the win column, Hanson has been impressive since the All-Star break. And he has had success against the Astros.
When he faced them earlier this season on April 30, Hanson went eight innings, allowing two runs on four hits with no walks and seven strikeouts. In his lone start against Houston in 2009, Hanson threw eight scoreless innings in a 2-1 loss.
Offensively, the Braves rallied for a 4-2 victory in the ninth inning on Tuesday. Brooks Conrad belted a go-ahead two-run home run and Troy Glaus added a solo home run later in the inning.
Glaus finished the game with two hits and two RBIs.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, has developed into a front-line starter for the Astros, going 6-1 with a 1.86 ERA over his last eight starts. Prior to that, Rodriguez was 3-10 with a 6.09 ERA in his first 14 outings.
In his four starts since the All-Star break, Rodriguez is 3-0 with a 1.98 ERA. He has traditionally been better in the second half throughout his career, with a 4.38 lifetime ERA in the first half and a 4.26 ERA in the second half, but has never shown this much improvement.
Lifetime against the Braves, Rodriguez is 2-2 with a 4.73 ERA in eight games, including seven starts. When he faced Atlanta on May 1, Rodriguez lasted five innings, allowing five runs (two earned) on 10 hits with a walk and five strikeouts.
Houston was held scoreless for the first seven innings Tuesday, but scored two runs in the eighth to take the lead. Michael Bourn had his third triple to lead off the inning and eventually scored on Jeff Keppinger’s grounder. Keppinger would score on an Atlanta error.
Still, the Astros were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base.