Houston Astros – Team of the Day: July 19, 2009

Russ Ortiz (HOU) vs. Hiroki Kuroda (LAD)

Ortiz has had an up and down season being in and out of the rotation. His last two outings have been rough, but the few leading to that, he’s been going deeper into games, keeping his team in the game. He’s faced the Dodgers once and won the game. He wasn’t lights out but he got the job done. Manny Ramirez drove all the runs in against him that day, so clearly the key to this game (as it is most games against the Dodgers) is to keep Manny at bay.

Although, Kuroda did not face the Astros yet this year, and the current Astros that have faced him have had virtually no success, the sample size is too small to make any declaration of dominance against the Astros lineup. When on the mound, Kuroda has underperformed. Dodgers bullpen is weaker because of overuse.

Astros will win this game in a close battle.