Pirates go for road sweep in Houston
Posted: Wed Jul 23 11:09 AM
(Sports Network) - The road hasn't been very kind to the Pittsburgh Pirates this season, but the team usually seems to enjoy its stay in Houston.
The Pirates will attempt to nail down a three-game sweep of the Astros when the National League Central foes go head-to-head again this afternoon at Minute Maid Park.
Pittsburgh entered this set having lost seven consecutive road games but has overpowered the Astros in each of the first two tests. The Bucs rolled to a 9-3 victory in Monday's opener, then socked three home runs en route to an 8-2 triumph last night.
Ryan Doumit had a three-run homer and both Freddy Sanchez and Nate McLouth belted solo shots for Pittsburgh, which had dropped five in a row prior to Monday's win. Sanchez added an RBI single on the night and finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored.
Paul Maholm (7-6) was also sharp on the mound for the Pirates, as the left- hander held the Astros to one run and five hits in eight innings of work.
Pittsburgh has now won six of its last seven meetings with the Astros and is 8-3 at Minute Maid Park since the start of last season. The Pirates are also 16-7 against Houston since the beginning of the 2007 campaign.
The Pirates are just 17-32 on the road in 2008, however, and haven't swept a three-game series as the visitor since doing so in San Francisco from August 10-12 of last season.
Jack Cassel (1-1), called up from Triple-A Round Rock prior to game with the Houston rotation currently short-handed due to injuries, surrendered five runs on nine hits over 4 2/3 innings to suffer the loss on Tuesday.
The Astros did address their issues in the starting pitching department on Tuesday, acquiring veteran Randy Wolf from San Diego in exchange for minor league pitcher Chad Reinke. Wolf is expected to make his Houston debut when the club visits Milwaukee on Sunday.
Brian Moehler gets the call for the Astros this afternoon and hopes to duplicate the results of his most recent start. The journeyman hurler limited the Cubs to one run and four hits over seven innings on Friday, although he didn't factor in the decision of his team's 2-1 win.
Moehler has done a solid job since being inserted into the Houston rotation in early May, as the right-hander has compiled a 5-4 record and a 3.72 earned run average in 13 starts this season.
One of Moehler's five wins in 2008 came recently against the Pirates. On July 9 at PNC Park, the 36-year-old helped the Astros to a 6-4 victory by working six innings and allowing four runs on seven hits.
Moehler is 4-4 lifetime against Pittsburgh with a 4.72 ERA in 11 games, eight of which have been starts.
Ian Snell tries to put his season-long road woes behind him when he takes the mound for the Pirates today. The disappointing righty is just 1-6 with an ugly 7.71 ERA in 10 starts away from home this year, and opponents are hitting .342 against him on the road.
Snell did pitch fairly well at Colorado's Coors Field this past Thursday, giving up four runs -- three earned -- and six hits over six innings in one of baseball's best hitter's parks. It still wasn't enough to prevent him from receiving the loss in Pittsburgh's 5-2 setback.
The 26-year-old is 2-3 with a 3.81 ERA in 10 career appearances (9 starts) against Houston. Snell faced the Astros on July 8 and allowed one run before having his start cut short after 3 2/3 innings due to a rain delay.
