(Sports Network) - The San Francisco Giants will try to sweep their second
straight series against the Houston Astros as the two clubs close out a three-
game series on Thursday.
After losing the season series 4-3 in 2011, the Giants have won seven of their
eight meetings this year with the Astros. That includes a sweep of a three-
game set at home from July 13-15.
The timing of the trip to Houston has been good for San Francisco, which has
won nine of its last 12 overall and leads the Los Angeles Dodgers by 3 1/2
games for first place in the NL West.
The Giants maintained that edge with Wednesday's 6-4 win, getting a three-run
homer from Hunter Pence in the first inning and a two-run triple by Joaquin
Arias in the sixth inning.
Starter Barry Zito struggled through 2 1/3 innings, allowing three runs and
seven hits. George Kontos was the first of six pitchers manager Bruce Bochy
used in relief and he got the win with 2 2/3 perfect innings.
"First guy in saves you and that's what Kontos did. Gave us two good innings,"
said Bochy.
Astros starter Dallas Keuchel retired 14 batters in a row after giving up
Pence's homer but took the loss. Four of the five runs he allowed over his
five-inning start came in the first.
The Astros have lost four in a row and are 1-11 in their last 12 games.
There was also a record-low attendance for the second day in a row at Minute
Maid Park. The 13,207 fans Wednesday night came after the teams drew 13,516 on
Tuesday.
"The vibe in the clubhouse and in the dugout has been positive," Astros first
baseman Brett Wallace said despite the struggles. "I feel like the energy
level has been high. We've been in a lot of games we've played."
Ryan Vogelsong seek to keep the Astros out of this game as he goes for a
second straight winning start for the Giants.
The 35-year-old righty snapped a two-start slide on Friday, beating the
Atlanta Braves despite giving up three homers over 6 1/3 innings. Luckily for
Vogelsong, all three homers were solo shots and he allowed only one other hit
in the game, moving to 11-7 with a 2.90 earned run average in 24 games this
season.
Vogelsong is 2-2 lifetime with a 2.72 ERA against the Astros, who counter with
21-year-old Jordan Lyles.
Lyles beat the Giants in his only previous encounter with them on Aug. 20 of
last year. He gave up two unearned runs in five frames.
The righty snapped a six-decision slide and won for the first time since June
26 with a 3-1 decision over the New York Mets on Friday. Lyles allowed a
single run on three hits and two walks in six frames as he upped his season
record to 3-10 with a 5.47 ERA in 19 starts.
The Sports Network