The Houston Astros are looking for any kind of positives here down the stretch of the 2012 season. Having lost 23 of their last 25 games and losing 10 in a row by a margin of 72-30, the Astros will take anything that gets this team back in the right direction.
On Friday night, the Astros will try to get back on track against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jordan Lyles (2-7, 5.50 ERA) starts for the Astros. He's hoping to rebound from his last start, a five and two-thirds innings performance allowing eight runs on 10 hits against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 22.
The Pirates will send Jeff Karstens (3-2, 3.52) to the mound. Karstens is coming off a seven inning shut out performance allowing only five hits and three strikeouts against the Miami Marlins on July 22.
Read more about the Astros at The Crawfish Boxes and SB Nation Houston. Head over to Bucs Dugout and SB Nation Pittsburgh for the Pirates fans' perspective. Baseball Nation is your source for news and analysis around Major League Baseball.