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Jun 11, 2010 - 3:39 AM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Houston (24-36) at New York (37-22), 7:05 p.m. EDT

Andy Pettitte is so synonymous with the New York Yankees that it's sometimes easy to forget that he spent three years with the Houston Astros.

He'll make his first career start against his former team Friday night as he tries again for his 200th win with the Yankees in the opener of a three-game interleague series at Yankee Stadium.

Pettitte (7-1, 2.47 ERA) is seeking to become the 35th pitcher to win 200 games with one team after allowing two runs over 7 2-3 innings Saturday in a 3-2, 14-inning loss at Toronto.

That's the kind of performance the Yankees (37-23) have come to expect from Pettitte, who is third on New York's all-time wins list and five strikeouts shy of matching Ron Guidry's 1,773 for the second-highest total in franchise history.

Those totals could have been higher had New York not allowed Pettitte to sign a three-year, $31.5 million deal with Houston (25-36) in 2004 to join fellow former Yankee and Texas native Roger Clemens. Pettitte was solid for the Astros, going 37-26 with a 3.38 ERA and helping the franchise reach its lone World Series in 2005.

The veteran left-hander is 5-1 with a 2.91 ERA at home this season.

Making its first trip to the new Yankee Stadium, Houston has pleasant memories of its last visit to the Bronx. Friday marks the seventh anniversary of the Astros' no-hitter in which they used five relievers after Roy Oswalt got hurt in an 8-0 victory in 2003.

"Any time you play in a no-hitter, history is being made," infielder Geoff Blum told the Astros' official website. "To be a part of it is pretty exciting, especially in old Yankee Stadium."

That's the only victory for Houston in six meetings with New York.

Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez left Thursday's 4-3 loss at Baltimore after the first inning. The premature exit occurred four days after he was pulled from a game against Toronto with groin tightness.

"The last two days it has felt the exact same way and once it got warm it was OK. Today, it cramped up right before batting practice," said Rodriguez, who hopes to play Friday.

Astros manager Brad Mills is familiar with the Yankees, having served as Boston's bench coach from 2004-09. He's excited about the chance to use a designated hitter for the first time.

"We're going to run some ideas by some players," Mills said. "The staff has some ideas, and I've got some ideas, and we'll go from there."

Houston has won three straight and eight of 10 after a 5-4 win at Colorado on Thursday. The top six batters in the lineup combined to go 0 for 21 but No. 7 hitter Humberto Quintero and No. 8 hitter Tommy Manzella combined for four hits and all five RBIs.

"When Carlos (Lee) and Lance (Berkman) aren't hitting, people like Q and Manzella are coming through," Mills said. "Everybody is pitching in and doing a little bit here and there."

Brett Myers (4-3, 3.01) will start for Houston after going 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA in his last four outings. The right-hander gave up two runs over 6 2-3 innings to get a 6-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday.

Myers has posted a 3.07 ERA in winning both of his career starts against the Yankees.