I'm with JJO, this is going to be a pretty fun game. Wandy vs. Gallardo - good matchup, and I don't care what anyone says, the Astros need to be playing with a sense of urgency. Berkman said before the Rockets Game 7 that the Astros play 162 Game 7s a year. Well, it's time to play like it, because this season is in danger of slipping away. A loss tonight puts the Astros eight games back of the Brewers for first place. Luckily the Astros have ace Wandy Rodriguez taking the hill tonight.
Wandy
The Astros are 6-2 when Wandy starts (those two losses? The Astros scored no runs), and his ERA hasn't been above 2.20 since the second game of the season. And with the exception of when Cooper pulled him after five innings at Atlanta on May 3, Wandy would be on a streak of eight straight quality starts.
Last three starts:
| Date-Opp | IP | H/ER | K:BB | GB/FB | Pit/Str |
| 5/3 @ATL | 5 | 6/3 | 3:3 | 8/8 | 86/55 |
| 5/8 vSD | 8 | 5/0 | 7:0 | 8/14 | 116/82 |
| 5/14 @COL | 7 | 5/2 | 11:0 | 4/10 | 113/77 |
Notice the last two starts? 18 strikeouts, no walks. Still has not allowed a home run. Eight of Wandy's 15 walks have been to the first batter of the inning.
Let's do the splits:
vs Righties: 32x136, .235/.300/.294, 36K:11BB
vs Lefties: 5x43, .116/.191/.186, 12K:4BB
When swinging at the first pitch (18): .333/.333/.389, 1XBH
After First-Pitch Strikes (107): .216/.267/.268, 32K:5BB
After First-Pitch Balls (74): .156/.270/.234, 16K:10BB
RISP: 8x39, .205/.238/.256, 10K:1BB
Runners on: 17x66, .177/.250/.230, 14K:4BB
2OwRISP: 3x19, .158/.200/.158, 7K:0BB
Yovani Gallardo
Gallardo has been somewhat of a revelation for the Brewers this season. After throwing just 24 innings last season, Gallardo is 4-1 with a 3.09 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP in 2009.
Last three starts:
| Date-Opp | IP | H/ER | K:BB | GB/FB | Pit/Str |
| 4/29 vPIT | 8 | 2/0 | 11:1 | 7/9 | 116/74 |
| 5/4 @PIT | 7 | 7/3 | 5:3 | 8/15 | 108/59 |
| 5/9 vCHC | 5 | 5/2 | 8:5 | 4/8 | 102/60 |
Gallardo hasn't pitched since May 9 due to scheduling problems thanks to a rain-shortened outing. But he did throw against the Astros on April 24 as the Brewers won that game 5-4 against Felipe Paulino. How did that shake out?
Matsui: Single up middle, struck out looking, groundout to third, groundout to first
Bourn: Bunt groundout, single to left, single to center, struck out looking
Berkman: Groundout to 2nd, struck out looking, struck out looking, struckout looking
Lee: Flied out to right, homer to left, flied out to right (Keppinger in) groundout to short
Tejada: Groundout to second, flied out center, flied out to left
Pence: Groundout to second, flied out to center, single to center
Blum: Lined out to first, lined out to second, GIDP
Quintero: Groundout to short, (Pudge in) groundout to pitcher, flied out to center
Paulino: Groundout to short, struck out swinging, (Erstad PH) struck out swinging
Yep, that was a complete game. Through the order...
1st PA: 1x9
2nd PA: 3x9
3rd PA+: 2x13
The Astros got some hard-hit balls, but they found a lot of outfielders. Or they found the same outfielders a lot. Or you know what I mean.
Let's do the splits:
vs Righties: 12x71, .169/.253/.380, 18K:7BB
vs Lefties: 21x99, .212/.291/.323, 29K:9BB
When swinging at the first pitch (15): .533/.563/1.133, 5XBH
After First-Pitch Strikes (82): .133/.207/.253, 26K:7BB
After First-Pitch Balls (92): .188/.286/.288, 21K:9BB
RISP: 6x37, .162/.311/.324, 11K:6BB
Runners on: 9x64, .226/.274/.358, 17K:9BB
2OwRISP: 3x17, .176/.364/.353, 5K:4BB
Unsettling stat of the splits: With two strikes, opposing hitters have a 1x33 (.030) success rate.
