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Royals-Astros Preview

Jun 25, 2009 - 6:17 AM By MATT BEARDMORE STATS Writer

Kansas City (31-39) at Houston (32-37), 2:05 p.m. EDT

Whatever it is about pitching during the day, Kansas City Royals right-hander Brian Bannister really enjoys it.

He tries to bounce back from a rare midday defeat Thursday afternoon when the Royals try to defeat the Houston Astros for their first sweep on the road this season.

Bannister (5-4, 3.89 ERA) suffered his first daytime loss in 2009 in Saturday's 7-1 defeat to St. Louis. The 28-year-old right-hander went eight innings for the second straight start and gave up three runs - two coming on a homer by Albert Pujols.

"When he gets in the batter's box, you start praying. If you don't pray, you think about starting," said Bannister, 1-1 with a 1.29 ERA in his last three starts.

Bannister is 3-1 with a 1.29 ERA in four afternoon starts compared to 2-3 mark with a 5.56 ERA at night. He is 15-5 during the day in his career and only 13-25 at night.

"I like pitching in the day," he said following a 7-1 victory against Cincinnati on June 14. "I'm kind of a morning guy, so my body feels good. I think that goes against what most guys, how they feel. I try to put the pressure on them early."

This is Bannister's first appearance against Houston.

He will look to lead the Royals to their first sweep on the road since they won three straight in Detroit from Sept. 22-24.

David DeJesus' game-tying RBI single in the ninth preceded solo homers by Brayan Pena and Miguel Olivo in the 10th and 11th innings, respectively, as Kansas City (31-39) rallied past the Astros on Wednesday for a 4-3, 11-inning victory.

"It was a wild ride," said Royals manager Trey Hillman, whose team has won two straight following a five-game slide.

Kansas City has won three of four on the road after dropping 13 of 15 away from Kauffman Stadium. The Royals have not won a road series since May 1-3, when they took two of three from Minnesota.

While Kansas City improved its interleague record to 7-7, Houston (32-27), fell to 3-8 versus the AL. The Astros are 0-5 at home in interleague play, scoring just 12 runs at Minute Maid Park.

"This was definitely one of the more disappointing losses of the year," Astros manager Cecil Cooper said.

Lance Berkman's disappointing play continued after Wednesday's 0-for-5 effort dropped his batting average versus the AL to .125 (5 for 40). The Astros first baseman has just three hits in his last 29 at-bats.

Ivan Rodriguez went 2 for 4 and scored the game-tying run in the 10th off a pinch-hit single from Matt Kata. Rodriguez, though, is 0 for 7 lifetime versus Bannister.

Rodriguez will likely be behind the plate as right-hander Brian Moehler (4-4, 6.43) tries to win his third consecutive start. Moehler matched a season high with three homers allowed - all solo shots - but walked just one over six innings in Saturday's 6-5 win at Minnesota.

"I don't have a problem giving up home runs as long as I don't walk guys," said Moehler, 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA in his last two starts.

He has surrendered 12 home runs and walked 15 in 11 starts.

Moehler is 2-1 with a 4.62 ERA in seven career starts against the Royals, whom he last faced in 2000 while with Detroit.

Kansas City has have won five of six against Houston after dropping 12 of the previous 13.