Houston starting pitcher Roy Oswalt corrected his early season struggles with a very strong outing in his last game. Back the Astros at home tonight against the San Diego Padres.
Is Roy Oswalt back to his previous All-Star form? I'm willing to lay this price to find out based on Oswalt's home history and the Astros getting second baseman Kaz Matsui back from the DL.
Oswalt was shelled during his first three starts this season, yielding 16 earned runs in 16 innings. But he came back strong in his last outing, allowing one run in seven innings during a 2-1 victory against the Phillies. Oswalt has won 77 percent of his decisions at home the past five years. During the past five seasons, Oswalt's home ERA has been 1.91, 2.72, 2.87, 3.33 and 2.45.
The Padres rank among the four worst teams in many of the major offensive categories, including runs scored, batting average and home runs. Until scoring nine runs on Sunday against Randy Johnson and the Diamonds, they had tallied just six runs in their previous four games.
Padres starter Justin Germano does not worry me. The Astros are off a huge come-from-behind victory at Minute Maid Park against Colorado that restored a lot of confidence. Matsui is back from missing 16 games providing spark and a steal threat.
San Diego has dropped eight of its last 11 away contests. The Astros have defeated the Padres in eight of the last 10 meetings when Oswalt has taken the mound.
Free Pick: Astros -140