In the second of a three-game series, the Cincinnati Reds will play the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park at 8:05 PM ET Wednesday night. Dating back to last season, the Reds have fared significantly well against the Astros, winning 10 of their last 11 games against them.
The MLB betting lines list the Astros at -120 and the Reds at +100 with a total of 9 runs.
The Houston Astros (8-11, 5-8 home) began the season on the wrong foot. They lost their first eight games by a combined score of 44-18. After putting together separate winning streaks of four and three, they have been climb to within 4.5 games of the first place St. Louis Cardinals. Their bats have heated up recently. Over the weekend, they swept the Pittsburgh Pirates while scoring 19 runs.
The Cincinnati Reds (9-11, 3-5 away) and starting pitcher Aaron Harang were able to cool of the Astros’ offense Tuesday night. The Astros were limited to 1 of 7 with runners in scoring position and struck out 11 times. It was a rare positive moment for Cincinnati’s pitching staff. With a 5.82 team ERA, Cincinnati is the second-worse in the NL. The Reds also have catcher Ryan Hanigan to thank for their win against the Astros. He went 2 for 3 with 3 RBI and is batting .483 this season. A win Wednesday night would give Cincinnati their second three-game win streak of the season.
The Astros will start Felipe Paulino (0-2, 5.94 ERA) who will be looking for his first win of the season. After going 3-11 in 2009, the right hander is off to a rough 2010. He has yet to make it longer than six innings. He is 1-3 with a 5.86 ERA against Cincinnati for his career, and he has lost his last three starts against them.
Cincinnati is starting Mike Leake (1-0, 3.92 ERA). The rookie got his first Major League win on April 22 against the LA Dodgers. Before Harang’s win Tuesday night, Leake was the only Reds starting pitcher to record a win. Cincinnati is hoping he can build off of Harang’s Tuesday night performance and set a higher standard for the Reds’ starting pitching.
The Astros are a half game behind the Reds in the NL Central. The two teams, along with the Chicago Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers, are all very close together and will look to get closer to the division leading Cardinals.
