NewsOswalt looking to pick up steam
Houston (38-41) at San Francisco (44-36), 3:05 p.m. CT
By Brian McTaggart / MLB.com
07/04/09 7:09 PM ET
SAN FRANCISCO -- Astros ace Roy Oswalt will make his first start of July in Sunday's series finale against the Giants hoping duplicate the success he had last year from July until the end of the season. Oswalt was 7-8 through June last year before going 10-2 the rest of the season and helping the Astros get back into playoff contention in the National League. He set a franchise record by throwing 32 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings last August and September. After starting this season 0-2 and with no wins in his first seven starts, Oswalt has put things together. He threw a two-hitter in his previous appearance Monday in San Diego for his second complete game in three starts. "Hopefully I can get on a roll like I did last year and see how the team does," Oswalt said. "I know the team's been playing better as a whole, and the pitching has been doing pretty well." Because the Astros employed a six-man rotation last week, Oswalt missed out on a chance to face reigning Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum on Saturday and will instead get five-time Cy Young winner and former Astros pitcher Randy Johnson on Sunday. "You try not to think about who you throw against," Oswalt said. "You try to go out there and throw zeros up and compete. The one thing you do know when you go against a guy like that is you have to keep the game close. "There's not many times he's going to go out there and give up a lot of runs. Hopefully we'll score some runs early and I can get a groove early and get through a lot of the game." Oswalt, 31, marvels that Johnson is pitching so effectively at age 45. "That's a long time to compete for a pitcher," he said. "It's hard to do. Staying in shape and actually pitching every year, that's a lot of innings to throw. Randy's the type of guy that knows how to pitch and still has the velocity to pitch. I don't see him slowing down too much this year." Oswalt is 4-2 with a 3.70 ERA in 15 starts since April 17. "We need him to run off a bunch of [wins], like he did before," manager Cecil Cooper said. "We just can't pin them all on him. Some other guys need to pitch well. We kind of rode him last year." Pitching matchupHOU: RHP Roy Oswalt (4-4, 4.02 ERA)
After winning one game in the first two months of the regular season, Oswalt went 3-2 with a 3.14 ERA in six starts in June. He's coming off his best start of the season, a two-hitter at San Diego on Monday, in which the only run scored on a wild pitch. He's 4-5 with a 3.98 ERA in 12 career starts against the Giants, and 2-5 with a 4.96 ERA in eight career starts at AT&T Park. SF: LHP Randy Johnson (8-5, 4.70 ERA)
The Big Unit picked up career victory No. 303 on Tuesday at St. Louis. Two Albert Pujols home runs marred his 5 1/3-inning performance, but Johnson yielded just two other hits as the Giants prevailed, 6-3. If Johnson's pitching, expect reliever Brian Wilson to follow at some point. Wilson has saved each of Johnson's victories, marking the eighth time in big league history that one pitcher saved a teammate's first eight wins in a season. Johnson, who was 10-1 for the Astros in the second half of the 1998 season, is 4-1 in seven career starts against them. Tidbits
First baseman Lance Berkman has reached base via hit or walk in 49 of his last 55 games. ... Infielder Jeff Keppinger entered Saturday hitting .333 (18-for-54) in day games this season. ... Second baseman Kaz Matsui had hit safely in 10 of 14 games coming into Saturday's game. Tickets
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• KTRH 740, KLAT 1010 (Español) Up next
• Monday: Astros (Mike Hampton, 4-5, 4.44) vs. Pirates (Virgil Vasquez, 1-1, 3.75), 7:05 p.m. CT
• Tuesday: Astros (Brian Moehler, 5-4, 5.64) vs. Pirates (Paul Maholm, 5-4, 4.69), 7:05 p.m. CT
• Wednesday: Astros (Wandy Rodriguez, 7-6, 3.21) vs. Pirates (Charlie Morton, 1-1, 2.65), 1:05 p.m. CT
Brian McTaggart is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
