Cincinnati @ Houston preview
Minute Maid Park
Last Meeting ( Sep 17, 2010 ) Cincinnati 3, Houston 5
It was bound to happen sooner or later - Aroldis Chapman has proven to be human after all.
Chapman and the Cincinnati Reds will be looking to pick themselves back up when they face the Houston Astros again on Saturday.
Chapman came to the majors last month with as much hype as any pitcher this side of Stephen Strasburg. He immediately began living up to the billing, regularly pumping 100-plus mile-per-hour fastballs while mowing down the opposition.
The Cuban left-hander filled an important role for the Reds, who are strong on offense and have plenty of starters but could not seem to find reliable relief pitching. Chapman had been as reliable as they come over the past few weeks, not allowing an earned run over his first eight appearances.
But the Astros got to him on Friday, touching Chapman for two runs to hand him the loss. Nothing was hit particularly hard, but Jeff Keppinger led off with a single and Anderson Hernandez walked before Michael Bourn loaded the bases on a bunt single. Angel Sanchez came up next and smacked a single back up the middle to lead Houston to the 5-3 win.
That setback, combined with the St. Louis Cardinals’ win over the San Diego Padres on Friday, leaves Cincinnati’s magic number to clinch the NL Central at 10.
The Astros moved to within four games of .500 with the win and now look like they have a realistic shot at finishing with an even or better record - something that didn’t seem possible when they were 17-34 at the end of May.
Bronson Arroyo will be on the mound for the Reds on Saturday. The veteran right-hander snapped a three-start losing streak last time out when he held the Arizona Diamondbacks to two runs on seven hits in six innings while striking out eight.
Arroyo has had some trouble keeping the ball in the park of late, yielding seven homers over his last four starts and 27 on the season.
He allowed one homer to the Astros in his lone start against them this season, but managed to limit the damage to two runs in 6 2/3 innings to pick up a win on April 29. Arroyo is no stranger to Houston, owning a 9-6 career record with a 4.78 ERA in 24 appearances - 18 starts - against the division rivals.
The Astros will counter with one of their many pleasant second-half surprises, Nelson Figueroa.
The journeyman right-hander has spent the last month in the Houston rotation after being picked up off the scrap heap and has posted a 2-1 record with a 3.31 ERA in six starts. His last start was his worst, however, as he surrendered four runs in 4 2/3 against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.
Figueroa has made three relief appearances against Cincinnati this season, allowing one hit in five total scoreless innings.