Phillies Host Houston Tonight

The Phillies will meet Houston for the first time in 2008 after the Phillies and the 'Stros split their six meetings in 2007.

Adam Eaton will pitch for the third time this season. Eaton is looking to string together his third consecutive quality start. Charlie Manuel has switched Eaton and Kyle Kendrick's spot in the rotation. Kendrick will pitch tomorrow. Eaton will throw today because it is his normal day to pitch which is probably a good move with Eaton's durability. You want him to get into a consistent routine to feel comfortable in the rotation.

Adam Eaton's first two starts have been two of his better starts he's had as a Phillie. One of the reasons: he's keeping the ball on the ground. 18 of the 41 outs he's gotten have come via the ground ball. A groundball rate over 40% is solid, especially since he's pitching in hitter friendly Citizen's Bank Ballpark tonight. The only homerun he's allow came when he was laboring through his final inning against the Reds.

The Astro's are currently without the services of super utilityman Ty Wigginton who's out with a broken thumb. Houston's lineup will most likely look like this:

1) Former Phillie speedster Michael Bourn.
2) Close to being the ageless Mark Loretta.
3) He's got three steals already Lance Berkman
4) Carlos "The horse in Spanish" Lee
5) He's got the same birthday as me, Miguel Tejada.
6) He's still got a spot in a starting lineup? Geoff Blum.
7) See batter number 6, Darin Erstad.
8) He's an awesome rookie, J.R. Towles.

Pitching will be Shawn Chacon. Chacon has bounced around the majors pitching for Colorado, the New York Yankees, and the Pirates. Chacon has been tough against two subpar hitting teams in St. Louis and San Diego. The current Phillies on the roster are a combined 17-61 against Chacon. Pedro Feliz has faced him the most, going 5-20 against Chacon with two homeruns.