MLB Betting Preview: Roy Oswalt, Astros Host Pittsburgh Pirates
Welcome to the first of five series this season between the two clubs that should battle for the NL Central basement, with the Houston Astros hosting the Pirates.
Being swept in a series is bad enough; having your butts handed to you on your own field by a 36-1 margin in the sweep is another story.
Getting out of the Steel City might be the best thing for the Pirates who begin a 10-game road trip in Houston on Friday night. One saving grace from their embarrassing sweep at PNC Park to the Brewers is only about 35,000 paying fans saw the three games. That makes the crowds in the 21K to 24K range each night in Houston this week with the Marlins in town look huge.
The first of 15 games between the two clubs this season will find left-hander Paul Maholm (2-1, 4.59) battling Houston ace Roy Oswalt (1-2, 2.37). Early lines have held with Houston a 160-170 favorite and the total 7 ½.
The Pirates will begin this series 7-8 and plus 2.1 units on the 2010 season. Milwaukee's battering really took the joy out of Pittsburgh's decent and profitable start.
Houston (5-10, minus 2.8 units) just had its four-game win streak snapped by the Marlins on Thursday. Anibal Sanchez pitched into the seventh inning of the 5-1 Florida win, three of the runs plated by the Fish unearned thanks to sloppy Astros fielding.
Maholm is without question a live dog in this contest, the line more indicative of Oswalt's past than any other single input. The Pirates were 3-1 when their southpaw faced Houston in 2009, with the Bucs winning all three of the games played at Minute Maid Park. Maholm posted a 2.25 ERA in 28 innings against the 'Stros last season, 2.57 in the 21 frames pitched in Houston.
He is coming off a good start this past Sunday in Pittsburgh when the lefty dealt 6 2/3 innings and allowed just two runs in a 5-3 win over the Reds.
Oswalt managed to work against the Pirates just once in '09, and it wasn't a pretty linescore for the veteran right-hander. He allowed all six Pittsburgh runs in a 6-4 Pirates win at Minute Maid. Houston is 2-4 in his last six outings versus the Bucs dating back to the 2007 campaign.
Like Maholm, Oswalt is coming off a very strong start in Chicago last weekend. He tossed seven innings of shutout ball and then watched nervously from the bench as the Astros bullpen had just enough for a 4-3 win. Houston's offense has plated just seven runs in his three starts.
The Astros won all five series played between the two clubs last year, winning two of three each series for a 10-5 overall record. Houston was 3-2 in series openers, 2-3 in the middle games and a perfect 5-0 in Game 3's.
Houston weathermen are calling for a good chance of rain in the area at various points during the day. If the roof is open, the temperature should be in the mid-70s for the first pitch with winds out of the SE at 10-12 mph (out to center).
The stats point to the Pirates on the run line being the safest play, by my calculations, followed by the 'under.' But I'm an old fool and will play the Pirates straight up.
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they started games in the 2010 season. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com, ESPN.com and, of course, S-BEE-R-dot-com!
Welcome to the first of five series this season between the two clubs that should battle for the NL Central basement, with the Houston Astros hosting the Pirates.
Being swept in a series is bad enough; having your butts handed to you on your own field by a 36-1 margin in the sweep is another story.
Getting out of the Steel City might be the best thing for the Pirates who begin a 10-game road trip in Houston on Friday night. One saving grace from their embarrassing sweep at PNC Park to the Brewers is only about 35,000 paying fans saw the three games. That makes the crowds in the 21K to 24K range each night in Houston this week with the Marlins in town look huge.
The first of 15 games between the two clubs this season will find left-hander Paul Maholm (2-1, 4.59) battling Houston ace Roy Oswalt (1-2, 2.37). Early lines have held with Houston a 160-170 favorite and the total 7 ½.
The Pirates will begin this series 7-8 and plus 2.1 units on the 2010 season. Milwaukee's battering really took the joy out of Pittsburgh's decent and profitable start.
Houston (5-10, minus 2.8 units) just had its four-game win streak snapped by the Marlins on Thursday. Anibal Sanchez pitched into the seventh inning of the 5-1 Florida win, three of the runs plated by the Fish unearned thanks to sloppy Astros fielding.
Maholm is without question a live dog in this contest, the line more indicative of Oswalt's past than any other single input. The Pirates were 3-1 when their southpaw faced Houston in 2009, with the Bucs winning all three of the games played at Minute Maid Park. Maholm posted a 2.25 ERA in 28 innings against the 'Stros last season, 2.57 in the 21 frames pitched in Houston.
He is coming off a good start this past Sunday in Pittsburgh when the lefty dealt 6 2/3 innings and allowed just two runs in a 5-3 win over the Reds.
Oswalt managed to work against the Pirates just once in '09, and it wasn't a pretty linescore for the veteran right-hander. He allowed all six Pittsburgh runs in a 6-4 Pirates win at Minute Maid. Houston is 2-4 in his last six outings versus the Bucs dating back to the 2007 campaign.
Like Maholm, Oswalt is coming off a very strong start in Chicago last weekend. He tossed seven innings of shutout ball and then watched nervously from the bench as the Astros bullpen had just enough for a 4-3 win. Houston's offense has plated just seven runs in his three starts.
The Astros won all five series played between the two clubs last year, winning two of three each series for a 10-5 overall record. Houston was 3-2 in series openers, 2-3 in the middle games and a perfect 5-0 in Game 3's.
Houston weathermen are calling for a good chance of rain in the area at various points during the day. If the roof is open, the temperature should be in the mid-70s for the first pitch with winds out of the SE at 10-12 mph (out to center).
The stats point to the Pirates on the run line being the safest play, by my calculations, followed by the 'under.' But I'm an old fool and will play the Pirates straight up.
NOTE: The W-L records shown for starting pitchers are their team's W-L mark when they started games in the 2010 season. Statistical sources for this article were Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com, ESPN.com and, of course, S-BEE-R-dot-com!
winner..