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Oswalt looks to continue personal dominance over Reds

May 7, 2007 - 2:53 PM Houston (13-17) at Cincinnati (14-17) 7:10 pm EDT

CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Roy Oswalt has handled the Cincinnati Reds like no other pitcher.

Oswalt looks to record his fourth straight win against the Reds on Monday when the Astros visit Cincinnati in the opener of a four-game series.

Before last April, Oswalt (4-2, 3.06 ERA) was 15-0 against the Cincinnati, the longest streak without a loss for one pitcher against one team in major league history.

He lost to the Reds on April 28, 2006, but has won three straight outings since to improve to 18-1 with a 2.46 ERA in 21 starts and two relief appearances against them.

The two-time All-Star righthander beat Cincinnati in his last start, yielding one run and four hits over eight innings as Houston won, 3-1, on Wednesday.

Houston will be trying to bounce back after losing two of three games in a weekend series with St. Louis. The Astros lost the finale, 3-1, on Sunday after scoring a season-high 13 runs to beat the Cardinals on Saturday.

Houston's Carlos Lee remained hot, collecting three hits to improve to 8-for-14 in his last four games.

Opposing Oswalt will be Kyle Lohse (1-2, 3.12) for the second time in a week. Lohse was on the losing end of Wednesday's matchup with Oswalt, giving up three runs and eight hits over six innings.

The righthander is 1-3 with a 4.05 ERA in three starts and a relief appearance in his career against Houston. Lohse has allowed three runs or less in four of his six starts, but the potent Cincinnati offense has given him just 11 runs of support in those outings.