Tonight the Astros get to see one of the game's best pitchers, and send the guy who may or may not be the ace of the staff to meet him.
Wandy Rodriguez
Who knows what to expect from Wandy lately. He's turned in great performances in two of his last four outings, and stunk up the joint in the other two.
Last three starts:
| Date-Opp | IP | H/ER | K:BB | GB/FB | Pit/Str |
| 6/10 vCHC | 7 | 5/1 | 6:2 | 8/11 | 116/70 |
| 6/16 @TEX | 4 | 6/6 | 4:5 | 5/9 | 103/55 |
| 6/21 @MIN | 7 | 2/1 | 8:3 | 5/8 | 114/78 |
Wandy gave up only one home run in his first eleven starts of the season, and has given up nine in his last four. That's disconcerting.
Let's do the splits:
vs Righties: 70x266, .263/.331/.410, 67K:26BB
vs Lefties: 15x72, .208/.278/.347, 20K:7BB
When swinging at the first pitch (33): .364/.364/.515, 3XBH
After First-Pitch Strikes (194): .218/.260/.285, 58K:9BB
After First-Pitch Balls (150): .270/.387/.524, 29K:24BB
RISP: 24x80, .300/.348/.400, 20K:6BB
Runners on: 41x138, .297/.357/.377, 28K:12BB
2OwRISP: 12x41, .293/.370/.366, 12K:4BB
Interesting note: Through the 1st time in the order, opponents hit .268/.324/.386. 2nd time through the order: .262/.323/.434.
Justin Verlander
Verlander comes in to this game 8-3 with a 3.31 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He's currently leading the league with 118 strikeouts, and leading the league with 10.8 K/9.
Last three starts:
| Date-Opp | IP | H/ER | K:BB | GB/FB | Pit/Str |
| 6/10 @CHW | 9 | 6/1 | 9:1 | 11/11 | 122/89 |
| 6/16 @STL | 4 | 8/5 | 4:2 | 4/11 | 73/47 |
| 6/21 vMIL | 7.2 | 5/2 | 8:3 | 10/9 | 115/74 |
Verlander did give up his first multi-homer game of the season last time out vs Milwaukee - both solo shots.
Let's do the splits:
vs Righties: 32x159, .201/.264/.289, 44K:11BB
vs Lefties: 51x202, .252/.317/.406, 74K:19BB
When swinging at the first pitch (40): .351/.351/.676, 6XBH
After First-Pitch Strikes (223): .216/.248/.286, 85K:7BB
After First-Pitch Balls (137): .216/.353/.378, 33K:23BB
Did you see that? That's seven walks in 223 plate appearances that Verlander gets a first-pitch strike. Or 3.1%.
RISP: 19x81, .235/.337/.309, 29K:12BB
Runners on: 34x142, .239/.314/.324, 45K:15BB
2OwRISP: 7x37, .189/.333/.324, 14K:7BB
