Houston Astros (62-65) at Arizona Diamondbacks (56-72), 9:40 p.m.
Sports Network | August 28, 2009
(Sports Network) - After a frustrating four-city road trip that saw the team win just twice in 10 games, the Arizona Diamondbacks return home tonight to take on the Houston Astros in the opener of a three-game set at Chase Field.
Arizona lost the first six games of its recent swing, dropping a makeup game versus the Braves before getting swept in three games by the Phillies. The Diamondbacks then managed just two runs in two straight losses to the Astros before halting that slide with a 7-5 win on Sunday.
In much of the same fashion, Arizona then lost the first two games of its set with the Giants before breaking through with an 11-0 triumph on Thursday.
Mark Reynolds returned from a three-game absence from the flu to hit his 39th homer of the season, one back of Albert Pujols' MLB-leading total, while Brandon Allen clubbed a three-run homer and finished with four RBI in just his fifth major league game.
"It's been a miserable road trip, I mean we've had absolutely zero positives this whole road trip," said Reynolds after the game.
Yusmeiro Petit threw six shutout innings for Arizona, which will hit the road again for six straight games following this series.
Diamondbacks scheduled starter Max Scherzer has struggled since a victory over the Pirates on July 26 in which he threw seven shutout innings, with the right-hander going 1-2 with a 6.23 earned run average in five starts since.
He has lost back-to-back outings, including Saturday versus the Astros. In his first-ever start versus Houston, Scherzer yielded four runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts over five innings.
The 25-year-old righty is 7-8 with a 4.12 ERA on the season.
Houston avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of the Cardinals with a 4-3 victory on Thursday.
On the same day that Astros slugger Lance Berkman called a players-only meeting and one after starting pitcher Roy Oswalt ripped the team for having "no fire", Darin Erstad hit a game-tying RBI double in the eighth inning before Jeff Keppinger's two-out homer in the ninth won things for Houston.
"We finally got something, got something going late in the game -- a couple big swings -- and all with two outs," Astros manager Cecil Cooper remarked. We've been scuffling to get runs,"
The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for Houston, but was also just the club's fifth win in its last 19 road games. The Astros continue a nine- game road trip tonight, a swing that ends next week in Chicago.
Yorman Bazardo will make the fifth start of his career and second of the season for Houston tonight. That first one came on August 19 versus the Marlins, and the right-hander allowed two runs on six hits over 4 2/3 innings of a no-decision.
Bazardo, who has made four total appearances this year, has a 4.50 ERA without a decision with Houston after going 9-6 with a 3.20 ERA at Triple-A Round Rock. He has never faced the Diamondbacks.
The Astros have won four of six versus the D-Backs this season, taking two of three in Arizona from June 12-14.
