Series Preview: Houston Astros (24-18) at Texas Rangers (20-22)

Overview (3 Game Series)

There are a lot of teams that seem to be clicking lately and you can count the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers among them. The Astros are arguably the hottest team in baseball right now having just won 8 of the last 10 and 11 out of the 13 games they played in May. The Rangers are certainly the hottest team in their division right now winning 7 of their last 10 games. And don't let their losing record fool you. They barely had double digit wins coming into the month of May and halfway through they've doubled that.

The Astros Offense

The Astros hitters continue to sizzle. At least the ones who were sizzling to begin with. The Rangers are one of the worst fielding teams in all of baseball so expect that to work to our advantage as the Astros don't strike out very much. The Ranger's primary catcher, Gerald Laird, has only caught 7 base stealers in 26 attempts and their back-up catcher is even worse. Since the Astros are the best base stealers in baseball, you should see a lot of action on the basepaths. Berkman should get two psuedo days off Friday and Sunday by serving as the team's designated hitter. Darin Erstad is expected to take his place on the field.

The Rangers Offense

Only one regular starter is batting over .300 as we start this series, designated hitter Milton Bradley. But several of the other Ranger starters are close to .300. Add that to the fact that the Rangers hit right handed pitchers a lot better than they do lefties and right handers is all we're throwing at them this weekend and well, the outlook is not so good. Their OPS against right handers is 5th in the Majors so expect these guys to put up more of a fight than the Giants did this week. Carlos Lee will also be more of a defensive liability in left field, which is somewhat bigger than the one at Minute Maid Park. One guy I want to touch on is Josh Hamilton. You've probably heard of him. He's currently leading the Majors in RBIs and is batting .298 with 8 home runs. He also does really well at home, hitting .341. If all that sounds scary, don't be too alarmed. He's in a bit of a slump and is only batting .212 this month. He's had a few good days, but he's just as likely to have a bad one too.

The Opposing Pitchers

Sidney Ponson (RHP) vs. Shawn Chacon
2-0, 3.16 ERA
Left: .256, Right: .270

This guy's been around for awhile, but hasn't really been any good since 2003. He has been good most of this year, though, and that's why you are looking at a 2-0 record (in 4 starts) with a 3.16 ERA. The good news? Ponson's last start was terrible and It's not very likely that he's abandoned four years of bad pitching.

Of course, we have Shawn "No Decision" Chacon starting for us. Not only is Chacon the franchise leader in consecutive no decisions and tied for the MLB record for most no decisions to start a season, but he's the only pitcher on our staff without a win or loss. Even all the relief pitchers have at least one decision. We are 4-4 in games he starts, though, and I would bet on us being 5-4 after this game.

Vicente Padilla (RHP) vs. Roy Oswalt
5-2, 3.23 ERA
Left: .276, Right: .270

Both right handers and left handers have decent (but not great) batting averages against Padilla. He's been a decent pitcher this year, overall, and can go deep into games. He's only had one bad start (against Detriot, giving up 7 runs in only 3 innings) and a lot of good ones. He's even pitched one complete game shut out this year (albeit against the Twins.)

He has middle-of-the-road strike out numbers. Like I mentioned earlier, the Astros don't strike out a whole lot and the Rangers have one of the worst defenses in baseball. So that is a plus for us. With Erstad likely getting a start in left field so Lee can DH and Brad Ausmus likely behind the plate, we will be fielding a very strong defense. A decent outing from Roy should be enough to secure the victory here.

Kason Gabbard (LHP) vs. Brandon Backe
1-0, 2.12 ERA
Left: .240, Right: .262

It's hard to say Gabbard has been a good starter this year. On the one hand his ERA is really low and he's only given up 7 runs over 6 starts. On the other hand, he's only logged 2 quality starts because he just can't seem to pitch very deep into games. The bad news for us is that it's probably had a lot to do with a little bad luck. One time he twisted his back while throwing a pitch and another time, well... he just got beat up.

Overall, he's been a good pitcher while he's actually in the game. With the mediocre Brandon Backe starting for us on Sunday, we may be forced to rely on another late inning rally to win this one. If I had to pick one game I think we'd lose, I would pick this one.

Wrap Up

I didn't think so a day or two ago, but now I feel this is a good match up for us right now. They are hot and so are we. Both offensives have been very good lately, but the Rangers don't quite match up to our players. On top of that, our offense will be improved by adding the designated hitter to our line-up and our defense could even be improved by playing Erstad in left field and at first base. (Although Puma has been great at defense, so that may be arguable.) The Rangers will be playing with their everyday offense/defense. I believe more high scoring games are in our future this weekend, but our superior defense and speed will be the key to winning this series. A sweep is possible, but a 2-1 series win is most likely.