Houston Astros (32-58) at St. Louis Cardinals (54-34), 7:15 pm (CT)

Houston at St. Louis, 7:15 pm (CT)

TV: CSN Houston, MLB.TV
Radio: KBME 790 AM, KLAT 1010 AM
Cardinals SBNation Blog: Viva El Birdos

Pitching Match

RHP Jordan Lyles (4-3 / 3.87 ERA / 1.37 WHIP) vs. RHP Shelby Miller (9-6 / 2.80 ERA / 1.07 WHIP)

Preview

Another day, another game closer to Carlos Rodon. Even google is on the same page as the Astros. The first image that comes up for Rondo is Jeff Luhnow.

Turning back to today's game, Jordan Lyles takes the mound for the Astros. Lyles bounced back from two straight poor starts to end June with a 6 1/2 of two-run ball versus Tampa Bay. Lyles has struggled with his command recently, collecting six walk and six strikeout total in his three most recent starts.

Comparing the rest of Lyles' season to his last three starts, his strike out to walk ratio is down from 2.5 to 1, and (for what it's worth) his percentage of strikes thrown is down from 63% to 59%. After two season pitching in the National League Central, this will be Lyles' first start against the Cardinals. The Cardinals are batting .288 against right handers with a .423 slugging percentage against right-handed pitching this season.

Unlike his counterparts, Shelby Miller is not in the top ten when it comes to run support (Lance Lynn - 6.06, Adam Wainwright 5.32, Miller - 4.24). But none the less, he is closing in on his tenth win in first full season with the Red Birds. Over his first two months with St. Louis, Miller held a record of 5-3 with a 2.02 ERA. He came back down to earth with a 3-3 record and 4.31 ERA in June. he collected the win his last start, striking out six and hold the Angels to two runs over six innings. Jose Altuve is the only Astros with a previous at-bat against Miller - 0-1.