The Fight To Stay Alive

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)

(AP Photo/Tom Uhlman)

Tonight the Los Angeles Dodgers begin a three game road series against the Houston Astros.

Both Houston(39-43) and Los Angeles(38-43) have records that leave a lot to be desired. The Dodgers however are in second place in the NL west and only two games out of first. The Astros though are in fourth in the NL Central and ten games out of first. Even with that though the Dodgers are 8 games back in the Wild Card race while Houston is 7.5 games back.

Both of these clubs need to win this series to keep pace and gain ground in the Wild Card race and in their perspective divisions. What is very common with both of these clubs is their struggles with pitching. Houston's club ERA is 4.47 with their problems coming from starters and form the bullpen.

Los Angeles' club ERA is a decent 3.73 with their problems mostly coming from starters while their bullpen keeps their team ERA in the high 3's.

Both teams need to win and can win. First pitch tonight is at 7:05 CST. Eric Stults(2-0) is starting for the Dodgers while Roy Oswalt(6-8) will be taking the mound for the Astros.

By: Collin Dakheel

The Downward Spiral of the Houston Astros

(AP Photo/Don Wright)

The Astros dropped another game yesterday to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Unfortunately we see this from the boys from Houston every season. Even three years ago when the Astros went to the World Series for the first time in club history, they were swept in 4 games by the White Sox. I guess I would just expect more from a team who over the years has had extremely good talent on the roster and Astros' Manager Cecil Cooper's "fire sale" approach to the roster to spice things up bringing Miguel Tejada and Michael Bourn to the team. The Astros are in a spot where they can salvage the season and win their division, but the time to get it together is now. With the Cubs having the best record in baseball and the Brewers starting to find their form again the time is now for Houston to square things up at the plate and put themselves in the position to give their fans another NL Pennant.

By: Collin Dakheel