Here come the Astros

It's Fogg, Wells, and Benson against Redding, Oswalt, and Pettitte. Redding and Fogg have been equally bad so something has to give tonight. Oswalt is pretty damn good. Pettitte, if he is ready to go Thursday, will make his second start as an Astro after some time on the DL with barking elbow.

The Bucs catch the Astros coming off a 2-1 series win in Colorado. They'll play the Astros six of the next nine games. Milwaukee and Los Angeles are also on the immediate schedule so this is a critical stretch in the season. Three of the next four series are against top-notch clubs; the fourth is against an NL Central division rival. A west-coast road trip featuring a pair of day games after night games follows the brief May 7-9 homestand with LA. The Bucs must scrap against elite teams and on the road to be around .500 on June 18th. It could happen.