Houston @ Arizona preview
Chase Field
Last Meeting ( May 6, 2010 ) Arizona 6, Houston 3
Two hot teams get together in the desert on Friday when the Houston Astros visit the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Houston has been a different club since the All-Star break. The Astros were just 36-53 in the first half of the season but are eight games above .500 since the midway point at the expense of teams fighting to stay in the playoff race – like the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Astros finished off a three-game sweep of the Cards on Wednesday, knocking St. Louis further off the pace in the National League Central. Houston held St. Louis to just two runs over the series and heads into Friday’s game having won nine of its last 11 games.
Right fielder Hunter Pence has been a big part of Houston’s turnaround. Pence is hitting .348 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs since July 21. On the year, Pence leads the Astros’ awful offense with 21 home runs and a .288 batting average. Houston owns a .247 team batting average this year, putting up only 3.76 runs per game.
The Astros (62-71) head into tonight’s game riding a 1-7 record in their last eight meetings with the Diamondbacks.
Houston will look to Brett Myers (10-7, 2.97 ERA) to try to snap the skid against Arizona. Myers has been the model of consistency for the Astros this season.
The 6-foot-4 right-hander has gone at least six innings in 27 consecutive starts on the year, a team record. He has allowed just five runs over his last four outings while striking out 26 batters and is 4-1 with a 2.12 ERA in his last nine.
Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks (55-79) are enjoying their role as spoilers right now. Arizona just finished a four-game sweep of the NL West-leading San Diego Padres and has won seven of its last eight. The Diamondbacks allowed more than four runs just once over that stretch while averaging more than seven runs from the offense.
Arizona shortstop Stephen Drew has been hot lately, hitting .444 over his last eight with four home runs and nine RBIs.
The Diamondbacks send Daniel Hudson (5-2, 3.03 ERA) to the mound looking for his fifth win in seven starts. Hudson hasn’t allowed more than three runs in an outing since coming over from the Chicago White Sox at the trade deadline. He went seven innings against the San Francisco Giants last weekend, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out six in an 11-3 win.
This will be Hudson’s first start against the Astros.