Thursday MLB Insider Report - Winning Information Inside!

Houston Astros
-The Astros bullpen has allowed just 2 runs in their last 22 innings combined (0.82 ERA)
-OF Michael Bourn leads the Majors with 5 assists and ranks 2nd in the NL in SB with 9.
-Houston is in the midst of playing 22 of their 1st 31 games in 2010 at home. Tonight is the final game of a nine-game homestand (5-3) for the Astros, during which they hosted Florida (2-1), Pittsburgh (3-0) and Cincinnati (0-2).
-SP Roy Oswalt's 23-1 career record versus Cincinnati gives hime the highest career winning percentage against them in MLB history (min 20 decisions).
-Lance Berkman has enjoyed success versus the Reds in his career. His 49 HR vs CIN are the most among active players.
-Houston is 5-3 in games decided by 2 runs or less with a 4-2 mark in one-run games.


Cincinnati Reds
-The Reds have won 3 straight games and 5 of their last 8 games. Cincinnati has won 11 of their last 12 games versus the Astros.
-In 7 of their 10 victories, the Reds have produced the winning run in their final at-bat.
-Team has won 6 of their last 9 games at the Great American Ballpark. They've gone 3-3 on each of their first 2 homestands.
-Cincinnati is 2-0 on this road trip and has gone 0-1-1 in the previous 2 road series.
-SP Bronson Arroyo is making his 5th start of the season. In his 4 starts, the Reds went 2-2, scoring 19 runs and in both victories they won in their final at-bat.

San Diego Padres
-With 23 stolen bases this year, the Padres are tied for 1st in the Majors with the Washington Nationals.
-San Diego has clinched a winning record in April by having 13 wins. The Padres have had five months of .500 or better baseball in their last 7.
-Pitching staff has posted a 3.19 ERA this year, ranking 4th in the Majors behind 3 other NL clubs. Through 21 games, Padres pitchers also rank among the top MLB teams in opponent batting average (.233).
-With a 2.76 ERA, the Padres bullpen ranks 5th in the Majors behind 4 NL teams. They are also limiting opponents to a .198 average that is 2nd in all of baseball.

Milwaukee Brewers
-The Brewers are 5-4 on the road this season, going 1-2-0 in series play. The team has won 4 consecutive games on the road.
-Brewers pitchers struck out 19 batters in yesterday's 6-5, 14-inning loss to the Pirates, establishing a new franchise record.
-Milwaukee has dropped 5 games this season when either leading in the 8th inning or having the lead after 8 innings.
-Team has gone 11 consecutive games without a save involved for either team.
-Stolen 17-of-18 (94.4percent) in stolen base attempts this year and have been successful in their last 14 tries.
-Compiled a 2-1 record against the NL West this season, as they head into San Diego.
-SP Doug Davis is 10-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 18 games, including 17 starts in his career against the Padres. The left-hander is 4-1 with a 3.18 ERA in 7 career starts at Petco.

Pittsburgh Pirates
-The Pirates have gone deep 7 times in the last 2 games with 11 of the team's 13 runs coming by way of the long ball.
-Team has won back-to-back games following their season-high 7-game losing streak. They were 11-10 after 21 games last season.
-OF Ryan Church has a .387 lifetime batting average (24-for-62) with 7 doubles, 3 HRs and 10 RBI in 18 games here at Dodger Stadium.
-Tonight is the 3rd straight game the Pirates have faced a left-handed starter. OF Andrew McCutchen ranks 8th in the league with a .423 average against lefties.
-Bullpen is 3rd in the Majors with 6 wins his year, trailing only Detroit (8) and Cincinnati (7).
-SP Brian Burres has lost his last eight decisions in the big leagues since winning on 7/11/08 at Boston as a member of the Baltimore Orioles.

Thursday MLB Recap
-Only one of the 3 runs allowed by Chicago SP Gavin Floyd (1-2) was earned, but the White Sox produced no offense, as they've scored just 6 runs in his first 4 starts.
-Chicago 2B Gordon Beckhom was in a 4-for-34 slide before a double in the 4th.
-Texas 3B Michael Young is the only Rangers player to start every game this season.
-Arizona SP Ian Kennedy allowed only 1 run in the first seven inings, as the right-hander won his first game since beating Tampa Bay in his big league debut on 9/1/07.
-The Diamondbacks (11-11) got back to .500 for the 1st time since April 16, the Cubs lost their 3rd straight to fall a season-high 5.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals.
-Arizona is 53-36 against the Cubs since their inception in 1998, including 24-21 at Wrigley Field.
-The Diamondbacks are 8-0 when homering at least twice, 0-6 when failing to go deep.
-Chicago Cubs No. 3 hitter Derek Lee has 5 hits in his last 49 at-bats. He is hitting .193 and cleanup hitter Aramis Ramirez is at .159.
-Detroit SP Dontrelle Willis struck out 6 - his highest total since 2007 when he was with the Florida Marlins.
-The AL Central-leading Twins (14-8) set a franchise record by winning their first 6 series before losing the last 2 games of this 3-game set in Detroit.
-OF Austin Jackson's 31 hits are the most by an AL rookie since Tampa Bay's Rocco Baldelli had 39 in 2003.