Previous to last night's opener against the Cardinals the Astros had played 20 of their last 26 games on the road, and had played 24 games at home, the fewest in the majors. Over that 26 games stretch, even with the Astros recent 2-7 roadtrip they are 13-13.
However, the Astros will play some pretty difficult teams at home, including the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees, the Rangers, the Dodgers, and will have to travel to Baltimore and Tampa Bay in the interim. Getting to the all-star break with a .500 record might be a challenge.
Last night the Astros certainly enjoyed getting back home after a sapping road trip, beating the Cardinals thanks to some very sloppy defensive play and a sparkling performance by Brian Moehler, who seems to have cemented his place as the clubs no.5 starting pitcher, at least for now.
To start a streak the Astros must beat Adam Wainwright, a bogey pitcher for Houston. He has beaten the Astros twice already this season, tossing a complete game victory in late April, and beating the Astros last week. In 5 career starts against the Astros he is 4-0 with a 1.94 ERA.
In the Astros 9 game roadtrip they were outscored 39 to 21. The Astros have brought up Humberto Quintero, replacing J.R. Towles, but unless the top of the order get it in gear the change will not have much impact. It could have some, but it will not impact greatly. Cooper might switch the order around a bit, if he decides Bourn is not doing the job at the top and put Pence there. Berkman cannot do much if Tejada and Lee are slumping around him. Sports illustrated have focused on Berkman, so here are the links: here is John Donovan's take on Berkman's triple crown chances (I personally do not see it happening). Here's a dive into the SI vault from 7 years ago.
