Cincinnati (58-75) at Houston (67-66) 2:05 pm EDT

HOUSTON (Ticker) -- The Houston Astros seem to bring out the 
worst in the Cincinnati Reds.

The Astros attempt to claim their fifth consecutive series win 
against the Reds when the teams meet on Thursday.

Cincinnati has dropped 13 of its last 15 games against Houston, 
averaging a mere 3.6 runs per game.

The Reds' struggles are such that the team hasn't won a series 
vs. the Astros since taking the first two games in a series from
May 29-31, 2007 at Minute Maid Park as Houston was concluding a 
10-game losing streak.

Cincinnati received a slight reprieve with Tuesday's 
series-opening 2-1 win, but Roy Oswalt evened the series and 
improved to 22-1 all-time vs. the Reds with seven strong innings
in the Astros' 4-1 triumph on Wednesday.

Brandon Backe (8-12, 5.54) will try to extend the domination 
when he takes the mound after alternating wins and losses over 
his last four turns.  The righthander collected the win in 
Saturday's 8-3 road triumph over the New York Mets, permitting 
three runs and five hits over seven innings.

The Reds will counter with Aaron Harang (4-13, 5.35), who is 
looking for a repeat of his last outing.  The righthander posted
his first win since June 13 - a span of six starts - by allowing
six hits and three walks over six scoreless frames in Friday's 
8-5 victory over Colorado.