Gameday Thread, #103: 7/29 vs. Astros

Juan Cruz, RHP (3-5, 4.95)

Roy Oswalt, RHP (7-7, 3.35)

After last night's marathon game, both bullpens will be depleted: the Astros possibly a little more, since they threw six innings, while Arizona only had five to get through [Pena and Lyon, with two innings each, will probably be the only ones totally unavailable for Arizona today]. Houston were forced into using Pettitte as a spot reliever, since it was his day for a side session anyway. Therefore, it would make sense to take a few pitches and get rid of Oswalt early. I say that, in bold, because we have managed three walks, total, over the past twenty-nine innings. This is not good.

Today, we face Oswalt, who might seem like a tough cookie. However, he only has two wins in his past eleven starts, though his record includes outings like a complete game against the Cubs, where he allowed one run and still took the loss. He has been pretty consistent though, with ERAs for May-July of 3.49, 3.72 and 3.67, so the odds remain that we're not going to have much to play with here.

Cruz will need to be on his best today. I'm thinking this, more in hope than expectation, because he hasn't lasted more than five innings since coming back off the DL, and has a 7.41 ERA in the four starts made to date. [Oddly, his best start came at Coors Field against the Rockies] That won't get the job done, needless to say, and I can't say I am feeling particularly optimistic. However, if Quentin the Magic Rookie plays for the whole game, who can say what might happen?