Roy Oswalt will now continue to destroy Cincinnati

Most individual v. team stats don’t make a lot of sense in baseball. For example, Player X – normally a .268 hitter – hits .283 lifetime against Team Y. Thanks for the enlightenment?

That is, unless Roy Oswalt is pitching to anyone in a Cincinnati Reds uniform. Oswalt, entering his ninth season as a major leaguer, has now compiled a 23-1 record in 26 starts against Cincinnati. That is a .958 winning percentage. There are not a lot of sure things in life; the Sun will rise, and the Sun will set. And then at 8.05pm tomorrow, Roy Oswalt will begin his ritual pounding of the Reds. That’s about as near to investment-grade sports gambling that you are ever going to get. Honey, go pick up that new dress you’ve been eyeing; we’ve just run into a windfall.

Unfortunately – depending on who you’re rooting for – things may get slightly more interesting this time around. Oswalt has not exactly been a robot so far this year, dropping his first two starts and allowing nine runs in 13 innings. And Houston has scored fewer runs thus far – 26 – than any other major league team; a full run per game behind the runner up, and a full five behind the Rangers. If you’re plating fewer than 3 runs per game, you’re not going to win very many games easily.