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Armas, Pirates aim for second road sweep of Astros

Aug 26, 2007 - 2:59 PM Pittsburgh (57-71) at Houston (57-73) 2:05 pm EDT

HOUSTON (Ticker) -- The Pittsburgh Pirates have climbed out of the National League Central basement, thanks in part to their play in Houston.

The Pirates make a play for their second road sweep of the Houston Astros this season when the two clubs complete a three-game series on Sunday.

Jose Batista homered twice in support of six effective innings by Matt Morris as Pittsburgh improved to 5-0 in Houston with a 4-1 win on Saturday.

With their fourth straight win, the Pirates has moved ahead of Houston in the NL Central standings. They are the only team to sweep the Astros at home this season. Tony Armas (2-4, 7.08 ERA) will try to continue the momentum as he aims for his third win of the month.

After coming out on top in his first two starts of August, Armas has struggled, giving up 12 runs and 14 hits in seven innings over two starts.

Meanwhile, Wandy Rodriguez (7-12, 4.58) is the right man to have on the mound as the Astros try and avoid being swept for the first time since July 13-15 at the Chicago Cubs.

Rodriguez is 6-3 with a 2.28 ERA at Minute Maid Park, and will look to make up for a subpar home outing his last time out. The lefthander allowed seven runs and six hits in 5 1/3 innings in an 11-6 loss to the Washington Nationals on Tuesday.