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Webb looks to halt Diamondbacks' road struggles

May 11, 2007 - 2:57 PM Arizona (19-17) at Houston (16-18) 8:05 pm EDT

HOUSTON (Ticker) -- With the Arizona Diamondbacks struggling on the road of late, it helps to be able to turn to the 2006 National League Cy Young Award winner to turn things around.

Brandon Webb and the Diamondbacks travel to Minute Maid Park on Friday to open a weekend three-game series against the Houston Astros.

Arizona has lost six of seven on the road, scoring two runs or fewer in five of those games. Their only win in that span came with Webb (2-2, 3.75 ERA) starting on April 30, when he allowed one run in seven innings of a 9-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In three road outings since a poor Opening Day start at Colorado, Webb has allowed just one earned in each start, striking out 23 during that time. In his most recent start at Chase Field against the New York Mets, however, Webb gave up five earned runs for the third time this season in a 6-2 loss.

The righthander also walked three or more batters for the fifth time in seven appearances, something he managed to do only seven times all last season. It was the fourth time in Webb's last five appearances he has been given three runs of support or less as Arizona failed to score during Webb's six innings Saturday.

However, the Diamondbacks' offense has struggled lately regardless as they have pushed across no more than four runs in nine consecutive games, totaling 24 in that span.

Webb has made five starts against Houston in his career and not allowed more than two runs in any of them, going 2-1 with a 1.78 ERA. He has not lost in two starts in Houston while yielding two runs and striking out 10 in 13 1/3 innings.

Houston will counter with Chris Sampson (3-2, 3.90), who threw only 64 pitches and failed to get out of the fifth inning in his last outing on Sunday, giving up three runs and five hits in a 3-1 loss to St. Louis.

The righthander, who has never faced Arizona, has given up one run and seven hits in 9 1/3 innings at home this season.

After languishing for most of the season's first month, Houston's Lance Berkman has gotten hot. He has hit safely in all 10 games this month while batting .406 (13-for-32) with nine RBI and nine runs.

He homered in each of the first three games of the Astros' four-game set with Cincinnati this week after hitting only one in his previous 25 games. Berkman, though, is 2-for-13 in his career against Webb.