Cardinals San Francisco

Cardinals San Francisco

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FOR OPENERS: The Houston Astros open the 2010 season tonight at 6:05 p.m. against the San Francisco Giants...tonight's game is the 1st of a three-game series against the Giants at home...after an off-day on Thursday, the Astros host the defending NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies for a three-game set over the weekend.

HOUSTON OPENING DAY HISTORY
*Tonight marks the 49th Opening Day in Houston franchise history.
*Houston is 23-25 overall on Opening Day, with an 18-17 mark at home.
*The Astros are 3-5 when opening the season at Minute Maid Park.
*2010 is the 9th time in the last 11 seasons that the Astros have opened at home.
*Tonight is the 8th time the Astros have opened the season vs. SF...they are just 1-6 thus far vs. SF on OD.
*April 5, 2004 was last time Houston opened the season vs. SF, also at MMP (5-4 loss).
*Tonight marks Roy Oswalt's 8th consecutive Opening Day start for Houston.

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45TH ANNIVERSARY: 2010 marks the 45th anniversary of the Houston Astros...after debuting as the Colt 45s in 1962, the Houston franchise changed their name to the Astros in 1965, playing their first game that season on April 12 in the newly-opened Astrodome.
ROY WONDER: With his start tonight, Roy Oswalt will extend his franchise-record of Opening Day starts to eight (all consecutive)...he and Roy Halladay entered this season tied with the longest active streaks in the Majors...Oswalt is 2-3 with a 3.35 ERA (18ER/48.1IP) in his seven previous Opening Day starts, pitching 7.0-or-more innings in five of those seven outings...Taming the West: Oswalt was a perfect 7-0 vs. the Western Division in 2009 with a 1.98 ERA...his seven wins vs. the NL West were tops in the NL and his .755 (37-12) career winning pct. vs. NL West clubs is the highest in the Majors among active pitchers (min. 50 app.).

MORE ROY: Roy Oswalt's 137 wins since entering the Majors in 2001 are tops in baseball...additionally, Oswalt is T-2nd in wins in franchise history with Larry Dierker, just seven wins shy of leader Joe Niekro (144).

OPENING DAY LINEUP: Carlos Lee starts in LF for Houston for the 4th consecutive season...CF Michael Bourn, and RF Hunter Pence are each making their 3rd consecutive Opening Day start...1B Geoff Blum is making his 3rd career Opening Day start, all coming as an Astro, while 2B Kazuo Matsui makes his 2nd with Houston.

OPENING DAY ROOKIES: Tommy Manzella will become the first Astros rookie to start at shorstop on Opening Day since Adam Everett on April 2, 2002 (2x4 in 9-3 loss)...Prior to this season, CF Willy Taveraz and LF Luke Scott were the last rookies to start on Opening Day, both doing so five years ago today (4/5/05).

NATIONAL ANTHEM: Will be performed by country music artist Jack Ingram...Ingram, who grew up in Houston, won the 2008 Academy of Country Music award for "Best New Male Vocalist."

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT: 53-year-old Brad Mills, who has over 30 years of experience in professional baseball, was officially named Astros manager on 10/27/09...pitching coach Brad Arnsberg, first base coach Bobby Meacham and bullpen coach Jamie Quirk are also new additions to the coaching staff, which returns third-base coach Dave Clark and hitting coach Sean Berry...Al Pedrique, who spent the final month of ‘09 as the 3rd base coach after Clark replaced Cecil Cooper as interim manager, is Mills' bench coach in 2010.

RECENT ROSTER MOVES: Following Saturday's game, the Astros purchased the contract of OF Cory Sullivan and reassigned OF Jason Bourgeois to Triple A Round Rock...the 40-man roster now stands at 40.

SPRING TRAINING WRAP-UP: Houston finished the 2010 Spring season at 13-15-1...Chris Johnson led the Majors with 8 HR while hitting .323 with 22 RBI...Pedro Feliz (.356), Carlos Lee (.333) and Hunter Pence (.373) also had solid Springs at the plate...RHP Matt Lindstrom (0.84) did not allow a run until his 10th and final app. on Saturday (1ER/10.2IP).

MEDICAL UPDATES: The Astros begin the 2010 season with three players on the 15-day Disabled List...Lance Berkman underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on 3/13...RHP Alberto Arias (rot. cuff impingement) and RHP Yorman Bazardo (shoulder strain) each were injured while pitching in a game this Spring...all three players are eligible to come off the DL on 4/10.

HOME COOKIN': Tonight's game is the start of a 6-game homestand for the Astros...after this 3-game series vs. SF, the Astros begin a 3-game set over the weekend vs. PHI...despite their 74-88 overall record, the Astros were 44-37 at home in ‘09, giving them nine consecutive winning seasons at Minute Maid Park.

WINNING WAYS: Since 1993, the Astros rank 3rd in the NL and 6th in the Majors in winning percentage...the club's .530 winning percentage (1424-1264) in the last 17 seasons trails only the Yankees (.597), Braves (.581), Red Sox (.554), Cardinals (.534) and Indians (.532).

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GRAND OPENING!: The Grand Opening for the Astros brand-new Urban Youth Academy will be held on Saturday, April 10 at 11 a.m. at Sylvester Turner Park...several Astros players and front office personnel will participate in the Grand Opening.

TURNING BACK THE CLOCK: April 10 will be"Turn Back The Clock Night" at Minute Maid Park as the Astros and Phillies wear their respecitive 1965 uniforms as part of the Astros celebration of their 45th anniversary...the game will also feature a free 1965 Astros replica jersey for the first 10,000 fans, special 1965 pricing on select concession items and other promotions related to that season...visit astros.com for more details.

FANFEST A SUCCESS: The Astros Annual FanFest event, held on Friday and Saturday at Minute Maid Park, raised over $50,000 for the Astros In Action Foundation...Each year, FanFest features player autographs, interactive baseball discussions with broadcasters and executives, game-used memorabilia and and a variety of activities for children.

EL CABALLO: Carlos Lee enters this season as one of six players to reach 100 RBI in each of the last five seasons...the other five are: Bobby Abreu (2003-09), Miguel Cabrera (2004-09), Albert Pujols (2001-09), Alex Rodriguez (1998-2009) and Mark Teixeira (2004-09)...Lee has hit .300 with 20-plus HR and 100-plus RBI in all three of his seasons with the Astros.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Lance Berkman enters the 2010 season ranked 2nd in franchise history in HR (313), 3rd in total bases (2923) and doubles (359), 5th in AB (5262) and 6th in games (1507)...Roy Oswalt currently ranks T-2nd in wins (137), 4th in innings (1803.1) and starts (271) and 10th in app. (283).

2009 REVISITED
SEASON WRAPUP: Houston finished the 2009 season 74-88 and in 5th-place in the National League Central Division...2009 marked just the 3rd time in the last 18 seasons that the Astros have finished below .500.

BREAKOUT SEASON: Michael Bourn led the NL in SB with 61 and captured his first Rawlings Gold Glove Award in 2009...Bourn's 56-point increase in his batting average (.229-285) was the highest in the Majors (min. 300 AB).

GUNSLINGER: 2009 All-Star Hunter Pence led the NL in assists with 16, and in the process became the first OF in franchise history to lead the NL in this category in back-to-back seasons.

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The 2010 MLB Baseball season will be something to remember. Click Here to Watch MLB Baseball San Francisco Giants vs Houston Astros Online