Mets carry their road woes into Houston

Baseball Betting Lines

08/16/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The road hasn't been good to the New York Mets this season, and especially so after the All-Star break. They'll try to reverse those recent struggles when they head to Minute Maid Park tonight to begin a four-game series with the Houston Astros.

The Mets have put together a subpar 22-37 record away from Citi Field this season and haven't taken a series on the road since a three-game sweep at Cleveland from June 15-17. Since the All-Star break, New York is a woeful 4-13 as the visiting team.

Jerry Manuel's squad seems to have an opportunity to improve those numbers on this seven-game trek, in which the club will also face the hapless Pittsburgh Pirates in addition to the non-contending Astros.

The Mets had plenty of success against Houston a year ago, prevailing in five of the seven matchups between the teams and winning two of three games in their lone trip to Minute Maid Park last season.

Houston will be coming into this set with some momentum, however, after winning all three meetings with the Pirates over the weekend. The Astros outscored Pittsburgh by a 15-5 margin in the series, and completed the sweep with an 8-2 triumph on Sunday.

The Astros trailed 2-1 after 5 1/2 innings in the finale, but scored four times in the bottom of the sixth and twice more in the seventh to take a comfortable lead. Chris Johnson later capped the comeback with a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth, his third hit in four at-bats for the game.

Pedro Feliz delivered a pinch-hit two-run double during Houston's big sixth inning, while Hunter Pence finished 3-for-4 with an RBI double and three runs scored in the win.

The Astros also received solid pitching from starter J.A. Happ (3-1), with the trade-deadline acquisition holding the Pirates to two runs and just hits over the first six innings.

"I'm going to continue to work on reps and try to get comfortable with my delivery so I can get into that seventh and eighth inning," said Happ, who was taken out at the conclusion of the sixth after throwing 100 pitches.

The Mets will be seeking to rebound from back-to-back home defeats to division-rival Philadelphia on Saturday and Sunday, including a 3-1 setback last night. New York managed just six hits against Kyle Kendrick and three Phillies relievers, with Jose Reyes' solo homer in the third inning providing the team's only run.

Mets starter Mike Pelfrey (11-7) did last seven innings on Sunday, but was saddled with the loss after allowing three runs on seven hits.

"Whether we're going out there and putting up 10 runs or one run, your mindset is to go out there and try to get people out," Pelfrey said afterward.

The offense has been an issue for the Mets as of late. New York produced a mere two runs over its three contests with the Phillies and has scored three or less in 10 of 13 games thus far in August.

The Mets could be in for a tough time again tonight, considering the way Houston scheduled starter Wandy Rodriguez has performed lately. The left- hander has won six of seven decisions following a 3-10 beginning to the season and has posted a sensational 0.63 ERA over his last four starts, having yielded just two earned runs in 28 1/3 innings during that excellent stretch.

Rodriguez was sharp once again this past Wednesday, limiting NL East-leading Atlanta to two runs -- one earned -- on five hits while striking out nine batters in seven innings. However, he did not factor in the final outcome of a game the Astros lost in extra frames.

The 31-year-old has worked at least six innings in each of his past nine starts and has compiled a 6-1 record along with a 1.79 ERA over that time period.

Rodriguez did lose his only encounter with the Mets last season, however, after being reached for three runs in six frames. In five lifetime starts against New York, he's 2-2 with a 3.68 ERA.

Jon Niese will pitch the opener for New York and like Rodriguez, has been on a good recent roll. The young left-hander surrendered just one run and struck out seven batters in a seven-inning no-decision against Colorado on Wednesday, five days after firing seven frames of one-run ball and again fanning seven in an August 6 clash at Philadelphia. He did not get a decision in that game as well.

While the Mets have usually struggled as a team on the road, Niese sports a solid 3-2 record with a 3.57 ERA in nine starts in enemy parks so far this year. The rookie also came through with a strong showing in his only career outing at Minute Maid Park, permitting just one run and four hits in seven innings to notch his only major league win of last season.