The Houston Astros will look to win their fifth straight game as they play host to the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night, in the second game of a three-game set against the defending World Series champions.
Bud Norris will get the start for Houston. Norris is 1-1 with a 5.46 ERA and 1.44 WHIP on the season, but has traditionally pitched well against the Cardinals. In 10 career starts against St. Louis, Norris is 6-2 with a 2.37 ERA in 64.2 innings, with 52 strikeouts. Further, Norris has held St. Louis' bats to a .219 batting average in those 10 starts.
Norris will be opposed by southpaw Jaime Garcia, who has pitched well in 2012. So far, Garcia is 2-1 with a 2.78 ERA -- but that's a bit deceptive. Garcia's WHIP is high at 1.42, and he's allowing opponents to hit .311 against him. Garcia has only struck out 20 in 32.1 innings on the year as well, so Houston's bats should see plenty of hittable pitches on Saturday night.
First pitch between the Cardinals and Astros is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. CT from Minute Maid Park in Houston. Televised coverage can be found on Fox Sports Houston.
For more on the Houston Astros, be sure to check out the Crawfish Boxes and join the discussion.