News
Versatility keeps Keppinger in lineup
Houston (24-29) vs. Pittsburgh (25-29), 6:05 p.m. CT
By Brian McTaggart / MLB.com
06/05/09 11:15 PM ET
HOUSTON -- The thing that was most appealing to infielder Jeff Keppinger about being traded to the Astros from the Reds during Spring Training was the thought of increased playing time. Keppinger's ability to play multiple infield positions and his knack for hitting left-handed pitching is what was most appealing to the Astros when they acquired Keppinger, who enters Saturday's game against Pittsburgh having appeared in 33 games and made 22 starts. He started at shortstop Friday when Miguel Tejada got his first rest of the season, and manager Cecil Cooper plans to play Keppinger at third base Saturday. For Keppinger, it will be just another day at the office. "You never know where you're going to be at," he said. "It's nice to know in advance you're going to be playing there. The coaches make me aware when I'm going to play, because it's tough to come to the field and not know if you're going to play a certain position." Keppinger has started four games at second base in place of Kaz Matsui, who's on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring. Keppinger has also started 17 games at third base. He's hitting .267 with two homers and six RBIs and hasn't made an error. "Jeff has played well," Cooper said. "He's someone that we really think we're happy we got over here. He can play all over, and he hits lefties extremely well, and he's a very capable hitter against righties. And you don't lose anything defensively when he's in there." The position at which Keppinger says he feels the most comfortable is third base. Coming into this season, he had played 155 career games at shortstop, 39 at second, 35 at third, eight at first and three in the outfield during his Major League career with the Mets, Royals and Reds."Basically, whereever I'm at the most and start to feel comfortable is where I like to play," he said. "I haven't done too much bouncing around and have been mostly at third so far [with the Astros], but when you can stay at one position you start to feel comfortable."
Pitching matchupHOU: RHP Roy Oswalt (2-2, 4.28 ERA)
Start No. 12 was a lucky one for Oswalt, who finally captured his second win of the season. Oswalt bounced back from his uncharacteristically wild outing against the Reds to hold Colorado to one run on six hits in his last start, striking out eight and walking two over seven innings. Oswalt was 2-1 with a 1.71 ERA in three starts against the Pirates last season. In his career, Oswalt is 13-6 with a 2.40 ERA over 24 starts against Pittsburgh. PIT: LHP Paul Maholm (3-2, 3.82 ERA)
It will be back-to-back starts against the Astros for Maholm, who lost to Houston in his last start despite allowing only two runs -- one earned -- in seven innings. Though Maholm is now winless in his last seven starts, that outing last Sunday seemed to get Maholm back on track after his previous start, which lasted just four innings. There are still some consistency issues with Maholm's fastball, but nothing that he feels can't be fixed. He is 5-4 with a 4.50 ERA in 10 career starts against Houston. Tidbits
Tejada didn't start at shortstop for the first time this season Friday. He had started the team's first 53 games, along with left fielder Carlos Lee, and had started 89 consecutive games dating back to last year. ... Ivan Rodriguez ranks third all-time in games played as a catcher with 2,220, trailing only Carlton Fisk (2,226) and Bob Boone (2,225). Tickets
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• Sunday: Astros (Felipe Paulino, 1-4, 6.21) vs. Pirates (Ian Snell, 1-6, 5.64), 1:05 p.m. CT
• Monday: Off-day
• Tuesday: Astros (Brian Moehler, 2-3, 6.37) vs. Cubs (Ted Lilly, 6-4, 3.28), 7:05 p.m. CT
Brian McTaggart is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
