The Brew Crew...Again

I gotta say, I was pretty floored when the Astros won their first series against the homer-happy Reds this season, not just because they had traded away their two best options in the lineup before the three game stretch against last season's NL Central champs, but also because they hit Brian Bogusevic third one night, Dontrelle Willis hit a home run while giving up only 2 ER on another, and Brandon Phillips made a million diving plays on line drives...every night. But that's why baseball is baseball, a sport you should never bet on. Anyway, it made me so giddy that I decided to do a series preview. That it's against the mighty Brewers made me snap out of my delirium, but we can all hope...right?

Houston Astros (37-74) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (62-50), August 5-7, Minute Maid Park

Game 1:
7:05 pm- J.A. Happ (4-13, 6.01 ERA) vs. Yovani Gallardo (12-7, 3.69)

Game 2:
6:05 pm- Brett Myers (3-11, 4.65) vs. Chris Narveson (7-6, 4.39)

Game 3:
1:05 pm- Bud Norris (5-7, 3.47) vs. Zack Greinke (9-4, 4.41)

The Brewers have been the Jekyll and Hyde of MLB this season, with the best record at home to go along with one of the worst on the road. However, any lineup that still has Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder in the middle of it can never be discounted on any night. It's rather unfortunate that Norris has to run out against Greinke, but I'll still pick that one as the game to watch in this series. I fully expect Happ and Myers to get healthily shelled. Other than that, the Astros' only hope is that with Ricky Weeks out, Milwaukee is fielding one of the most laughable defensive infields in baseball, with Fielder, Felipe Lopez, Yuniesky Betancourt, and Casey McGehee taking the grounders.

PREDICTION: I'd like to be optimistic here, but the last time I tried that, I predicted the 'Stros to take 3 of 4 from Florida, and they ended up getting swept. Against a much more potent lineup and staff than the likes of the Marlins', I'll be reasonable here and say that Houston wins one of these games. Which one? Don't ask me.