Houston @ Philadelphia preview
Citizens Bank Park
Last Meeting ( Aug 25, 2010 ) Houston 3, Philadelphia 2
The Philadelphia Phillies can take a bit of solace in the following - they won't face any more former mates in the series finale on Thursday.
The Houston Astros have benefited from solid pitching performances from former Phillies Brett Myers and J.A. Happ to claim two of their three victories in this series.
In addition, Michael Bourn has also torched his former team by going collecting five hits - including a homer - and scoring three times in this series. Even reserve Jason Michaels has scored a key run in Tuesday's triumph.
On Thursday afternoon, the Astros (57-69) will look to complete a four-game sweep when they turn to Wandy Rodriguez (9-12, 4.00 ERA) - who has no ties to the City of Philadelphia at all.
Houston native Kyle Kendrick (8-6, 4.58 ERA) will take the ball for the Phillies (70-56), who remained 2 1/2 games in back of NL East-leading Atlanta following Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Astros.
The Braves squandered a nine-run lead and dropped a 12-10 decision to the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday afternoon. Atlanta has an off-day on Thursday before its weekend set against the Florida Marlins, so the Fightin' Phils could shave a half-game off its deficit with a win in their series finale.
Philadelphia also failed to gain sole possession of first in the race for the wild card as the Cincinnati Reds recorded a 12-11 triumph over the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday afternoon. The St. Louis Cardinals remain one full game in back of the Phillies and Giants, respectively.
Houston can be credited for Philadelphia's troubles of late.
Humberto Quintero snapped a tie with an RBI single in the seventh and Happ tossed six-plus strong innings as the Astros bested Roy Halladay and the Phillies on Wednesday.
Hunter Pence and Bourn belted solo homers and rookie Chris Johnson and Quintero had two hits apiece as Houston secured its fourth win in a row and ninth in 13 games.
Johnson has collected six hits in this series and is an impressive 9-for-22 in eight games against the Phillies this season.
Thursday's game marks the first time Johnson will face Kendrick, who will be celebrating his 26th birthday on Wednesday. The right-hander has dropped his last two contests at Citizens Bank Park - including a five-run effort in 5 2/3 innings en route to an 8-1 loss to the Washington Nationals on Saturday.
Rodriguez pitched well in his last outing - albeit also in defeat. The 31-year-old left-hander permitted three runs but struck out 10 in six innings in a 6-3 loss to the Florida Marlins on Saturday.