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July, 01 2008 8:05pm EST
MONEYLINE: Houston Astros -132
LOSS for -2 unit(s)

Los Angeles Dodgers at Houston Astros

ASTROS – The Astros are heating up again and are going for their fourth straight win on Tuesday night. Houston is 7-3 in their last ten games and they have won three straight series (versus Tampa Bay, Texas, and Boston). They got this series off to a good start too by knocking off the Dodgers 4-1 yesterday in Game One of this four game set. Roy Oswalt gave the Astros a strong start yesterday and Houston’s starting rotation has seen its members allow three earned runs or less in 12 of their last 14 games! Look for more of the same Tuesday night with Wandy Rodriguez on the hill. The Astros southpaw hurler has solid overall numbers but it’s his numbers at home that are especially impressive. Rodriguez has a 1.89 ERA and a .197 BAA in his six home starts this season. Throughout his young career, Rodriguez has pitched better at home than on the road as his home ERA is 1.61 runs less than his road ERA. Rodriguez has also been strong against the Dodgers as he’s 2-1 in four games (three starts) against them in his career. With a 2.29 ERA and .205 BAA it’s evident that Rodriguez has gotten the better of the Dodgers recently. Overall, the Astros have enjoyed solid success against the Dodgers in recent meetings. Houston has won all four games against Los Angeles this season and they’ve outscored them by a combined score of 24 to 7. The Dodgers offense continues to be a problem as they have scored a total of just three runs in their last four games. Overall, the Dodgers have been held to one run or fewer in six of their last eight contests. The Dodgers offense has now taken another negative hit too as Juan Pierre was placed on the 15-day disabled list after getting hurt in Sunday’s game. It actually looks like Pierre could be out four to six weeks! The Dodgers offense has already been hurt badly this season because of Rafael Furcal spending too much time on the disabled list as Los Angeles needs that sparkplug at the top of their order. Without him, the Dodgers are relying too heavily on their pitchers like Clayton Kershaw. The young southpaw is 0-2 despite a 4.36 ERA on the season as he is now winless in seven starts. His last start was a rough one and more of that can be expected here. Kershaw allowed six hits and four walks in less than five innings of work in his most recent start and he’s facing one of the top home offenses in the league Tuesday night. Kershaw has received only eight runs of support in his seven MLB starts. He won’t get much support here either since he’s opposed by Rodriguez of the Astros. Rodriguez is coming off of a very strong outing versus Texas and he continues his trend of strong starts at home by also dominating in this game. That means that Houston should win this one in “Big Easy” style!