Houston Astros looking to snap series losing streak vs. Indians

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Brad Peacock (Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports)

It’s been a pretty long time since the Houston Astros beat the Cleveland Indians. Six straight games to be exact.

Tonight, the Astros will look to avoid their seventh consecutive loss to the Indians when they send Brad Peacock to the mound in Cleveland.

Peacock is 0-3 with a 10.80 ERA over his last five starts and really struggled in his most recent game vs. Boston. In that start, Peacock gave up six runs over 4 1/3 innings and is now 3-8 on the year with a 5.47 ERA. 

The Astros, who are 4-3 on their current 10-game road trip, are looking to play spoiler as the Indians continue to chase the Kansas City Royals in the AL Central. Houston leads MLB in runs scored in the 2nd half  with 145 while the Indians rank 11th with 130. Last season, the Indians won each of the final six meetings between these two teams by a combined score of 41-15 .

Chris Carter and Jake Marisnick (Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports)

The Indians will send Carlos Carrasco (5-4, 3.27 ERA) to the bump to face the Astros. Carrasco is 2-0 and hasn’t given up a run since the Indians let him back in their rotation (currently on a 12-inning scoreless streak.) Before rejoining the rotation, Carrasco had gone 0-12 with an 8.09 ERA over his previous 17 starts dating to 2011. He went 0-3 with a 6.95 mark in April before moving to the bullpen.

I think this is a big start for Brad Peacock after his recent struggles. He needs to come out and show Bo Porter he can still be a reliable starter for this team over the last two months of the season. I’m starting to think it would be much more beneficial if the Astros gave one of their young kids a shot if Peacock is going to be this ineffective.

Slugger Chris Carter is also hoping for better results after going 2 for 18 with nine strikeouts since Sunday. He is batting .306/.351/.682 with 17 home runs, eight doubles, and 42 RBIs over his last 40 games played. Although Carrasco has been pitching well recently, Carter should have a chance to get back on track tonight. 

"Astros (54-74)  lineup vs. the Indians tonight:LF- Robbie Grossman2B- Jose Altuve DH- Chris CarterCF- Dexter Fowler C- Jason CastroSS- Marwin Gonzalez1B- Jon Singleton3B- Matt DominguezRF- Jake MarisnickP- Brad Peacock"