Series Preview: Pittsburgh Pirates Host Houston Astros

The Pittsburgh Pirates (15-16) begin a seven-game homestand and a three-game series with the  last place Houston Astros (12-19) tonight at 7:05 PM.

I recently took part in a Q-For-Q interview with Houston Hot Bed's Connor Nielen.

For a better look at the Houston baseball club, let's check out my half of the interview.

Buccos Buzz: The Houston Astros currently rank third in the NL in batting average and are in the top 10 in on base percentage, but are last in home runs. Is (Astros manager) Brad Mills' offensive philosophy to sort of just get on base and play small ball and not worry so much about the long ball, or are we likely to see more home runs from this club over the course of the season?

Connor: I don't think it's so much a philosophy thing as it is a basic lack of home run hitters. Carlos Lee has struggled mightily and was being relied on for a lot of the offensive "pop." Hunter Pence is a great power hitter but you know what kind of stroke you're going to get from him. He's very consistent, 25 home runs each of the past three years. One guy who could be looked upon to maybe start clubbing some long balls is youngster Brett Wallace. He has had a fantastic start to the year and should improve on his long-ball totals as the season progresses.

Read the rest of the interview at Buccos Buzz.