Series Preview

San Diego Padres (13-16, 3rd in NL West, 5 GB) @ Houston Astros (9-20, 6th in NL Central, 8 GB)

Astros Top Hitters
1. Lance Berkman (.274, 5 HR, 21 RBI)
2. Hunter Pence (.259, 4 HR, 12 RBI)
3. Carlos Lee (.255, 4 HR, 11 RBI)

Probable Pitchers (Subject to Change)
Jeff Niemann (2-3, 6.41 ERA) vs. Felipe Paulino (1-2, 3.71 ERA)
Jake Peavy (2-4, 6.68 ERA) vs. Roy Oswalt (1-4, 4.12 ERA)
Chris Young (3-1, 4.31 ERA) vs. Wandy Rodriguez (0-3, 6.89 ERA)



Ron Burgundy's Thoughts
It feels weird not saying that our team is in last place. We are in a pivotal spot in our season though because we are sitting in a three way tie, and if one of the teams starts to spudder they could get left behind the other two. Luckily we are playing a very poor team so we have a good chance of pulling ahead of the other two. We have a nice 4 game winning streak going, and during that our pitching has been great. We really need Jeff Niemann to step up in the first start, because in the second we are having wildly inconsistent Jake Peavy going against Roy Oswalt. The Astros are struggling due to their offense, but Minute Maid Park is a launching pad most days so we have to be careful with them. They have talent, it's just not coming together for them right now. What is coming together recently is our offense. We are hitting on all cylinders lately and we look to keep it going in this three game set. I talked to my good friend Champ Kind, he really likes where we are going right now, and that's good enough for me. While I'm gone in Houston stay classy San Diego, and we'll bring some class to those Astros fans.