Game 131 Preview: Houston Astros at Cleveland Indians

Houston Astros (55-75) at Cleveland Indians (65-63), 12:05 p.m. (CST)

TV: CSN Houston, MLB.TV
Radio: KBME 790 AM, KLAT 1010 AM
Indians SBNation Blog: Let's Go Tribe

Pitching matchup

LHP Brett Oberholtzer (4-8, 4.01 ERA, 1.33 WHIP) vs. RHP Trevor Bauer (4-7, 4.41 ERA, 1.41 WHIP)

Preview

The Astros finish their 10-game road trip today in Cleveland. Houston split four games with Red Sox, took two of the three from the Yankees, and thus far have split with the Indians. A win will go a long way in coloring the results of this road trip, but a .500 road trip is still impressive.

Brett Oberholtzer is the man tasked with winning this third game with the Indians. His recent track record says the Astros have a better than fair chance at a 'w'. Obe' has thrown a quality start in nine of his last eleven starts. His streak of six straight was broken in his last start. Oberholtzer faced the Yankees on August 19, he allowed four runs over 5.1 innings.

Oberholtzer faced the Indians twice last season, once as a starter and once out of the pen. Obe' made his major league debut as a reliever on April 21, 2013 against Cleveland, allowing two runs over three hits over two innings. He was much better in his start on September 20, holding the Tribe to two runs over 5.1 innings on five hits - recording 15 ground ball outs in the game.

Carlos Santana leads the way for the Indians in career at-bats against Obe' - he is 2-for-3 with a walk. Michael Brantley is 1-for-4 against Oberholtzer in his career; as is Mike Aviles, who's one hit is a double.

It's been a bumpy road to the beginning of highly-touted prospect Trevor Bauer's career to say the least. The former UCLA product was drafted third-overall in the 2011 MLB draft. He was traded to the Indians in the 2012 offseason in a deal that saw Didi Gregorius,  Drew Stubbs, Shin-Soo Choo, and the now Astro Tony Sipp change hands. There had been public disagreements between the Diamondbacks and Bauer over his pitching routine, specifically the use of extreme long toss. Was it the cause for the trade? Either way he is in Cleveland now.

The young pitcher is getting his feet wet in his first full major league season. Bauer allowed five runs to the first five batters he faced his last start, but 14 of 15 on August 19 at the Twins. He has thrown a quality start in six of his last ten starts. Bauer has 3.36 ERA at home at Progressive Field.

This will be the first time any active Astros faces Bauer.