GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: HOUSTON (39-53) at WASHINGTON (37-54)

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL AT WASHINGTON - MID INNING UPDATE
PLAY: L Scott hit for B Lidge.
SITUATION: 0 RUNS IN, NONE ON, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: HOUSTON 3
WASHINGTON 4 TOP, 9TH

DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: L Scott (.223, 10 HR, 39 RBI)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
HOUSTON 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 3 10 0
WASHINGTON 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 x 4 7 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: HOU - WOODY WILLIAMS, TREVER MILLER (7TH), CHAD QUALLS (7TH), BRAD
LIDGE (8TH) AND BRAD AUSMUS

WAS - MIKE BACSIK, SAUL RIVERA (6TH), JON RAUCH (8TH),
CHAD CORDERO (9TH) AND BRIAN SCHNEIDER

HOME RUNS: HOU - CARLOS LEE (17) OFF JON RAUCH IN THE 8TH, 0 ON

WAS - DMITRI YOUNG (9) OFF WOODY WILLIAMS IN THE 6TH, 2 ON</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
HOUSTON 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 3 10 0
WASHINGTON 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 x 4 7 1 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: HOU - WOODY WILLIAMS, TREVER MILLER (7TH), CHAD QUALLS (7TH), BRAD
LIDGE (8TH) AND BRAD AUSMUS

WAS - MIKE BACSIK, SAUL RIVERA (6TH), JON RAUCH (8TH),
CHAD CORDERO (9TH) AND BRIAN SCHNEIDER


WP - SAUL RIVERA (4-2)
LP - WOODY WILLIAMS (4-11)
SAVE - CHAD CORDERO (16)

HOME RUNS: HOU - CARLOS LEE (17) OFF JON RAUCH IN THE 8TH, 0 ON

WAS - DMITRI YOUNG (9) OFF WOODY WILLIAMS IN THE 6TH, 2 ON


TIME: 2:23 ATT: 22,392

PROBABLES: HOU - CHRIS SAMPSON (6-6, 4.25)
WAS - TIM REDDING (1-1, 4.09)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">HOUSTON (3) VS WASHINGTON (4) - FINAL

HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Biggio 2b 5 0 1 0 0 1 0 .254
H Pence cf 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 .333
L Berkman rf 4 1 2 0 0 0 1 .264
C Lee lf 3 1 2 2 1 0 1 .295
M Loretta 1b-ss 3 0 1 1 0 0 3 .315
M Ensberg 3b 4 0 2 0 0 0 2 .227
E Bruntlett ss 3 0 1 0 0 0 4 .292
b-M Lamb ph-1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .295
B Ausmus c 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .249
W Williams p 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .105
a-O Palmeiro ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .257
T Miller p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
C Qualls p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
B Lidge p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
c-L Scott ph 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .222

Totals 35 3 10 3 1 5 15

a-fouled out to left for W Williams in the 7th; b-struck out swinging for E
Bruntlett in the 8th; c-struck out looking for B Lidge in the 9th.

BATTING: HR - C Lee (17, 8th inning off J Rauch 0 on, 1 Out). SF - M Loretta.
RBI - C Lee 2 (75), M Loretta (30). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - E
Bruntlett 2, B Ausmus 1. GIDP - H Pence. Team LOB - 7.


WASHINGTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
N Logan cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .231
R Belliard 2b 4 1 1 0 0 1 0 .306
R Zimmerman 3b 4 2 2 0 0 1 0 .259
D Young 1b 3 1 2 3 0 0 0 .339
R Fick 1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .217
R Church lf 3 0 0 1 0 1 1 .259
R Langerhans lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .166
A Kearns rf 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .251
F Lopez ss 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .241
B Schneider c 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231
M Bacsik p 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .071
S Rivera p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-T Batista ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .227
J Rauch p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
C Cordero p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Totals 31 4 7 4 0 4 4

a-singled to right center for S Rivera in the 7th.

BATTING: HR - D Young (9, 6th inning off W Williams 2 on, 1 Out). RBI - R
Church (38), D Young 3 (52). Team LOB - 3.

FIELDING: E - F Lopez (9, throw). Outfield assists - A Kearns 2 (M Ensberg at
1st base, L Berkman at 3rd base). DP: 2 (A Kearns-D Young, F Lopez-R Belliard-D
Young).


----------------------------------------------------
HOUSTON - 000 002 010 -- 3
WASHINGTON - 000 103 00x -- 4
----------------------------------------------------

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
W Williams (L, 4-11) 6 6 4 4 0 2 1 5.37
T Miller 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.37
C Qualls 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.83
B Lidge 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.21

WASHINGTON ip h r er bb so hr era
M Bacsik 5 2/3 7 2 1 1 2 0 4.87
S Rivera (W, 4-2) 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.52
J Rauch (H, 19) 1 2 1 1 0 1 1 4.07
C Cordero (S, 16) 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 2.86

Pitches-strikes: W Williams 85-56; T Miller 9-8; C Qualls 9-6; B Lidge 11-8;
M Bacsik 85-56; S Rivera 15-10; J Rauch 19-12; C Cordero 12-11. Ground
balls-fly balls: W Williams 12-4; T Miller 0-2; C Qualls 0-1; B Lidge 0-1; M
Bacsik 6-8; S Rivera 3-1; J Rauch 0-2; C Cordero 1-0. Batters faced: W Williams
24; T Miller 2; C Qualls 2; B Lidge 3; M Bacsik 25; S Rivera 4; J Rauch 5; C
Cordero 3.

UMPIRES: HP--John Hirschbeck. 1B--Laz Diaz. 2B--Wally Bell. 3B--Bill Welke.

T--2:23. Att--22,392.
Weather: 87 degrees, overcast. Wind: 11 mph, out to
left.</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NL
HOUSTON 3
WASHINGTON 4 FINAL</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOUSTON (3) AT WASHINGTON (4) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WASHINGTON 4TH: R Belliard flied out to center. R Zimmerman reached on
infield single to shortstop. D Young singled to left center, R Zimmerman to
third. R Church grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, R Zimmerman
scored, D Young out at second. A Kearns grounded into fielder's choice to
shortstop, R Church out at second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0,
WASHINGTON 1.

HOUSTON 6TH: H Pence safe at second on throwing error by shortstop F Lopez.
L Berkman singled to right center, H Pence to third. C Lee singled to right,
H Pence scored, L Berkman to third. M Loretta hit sacrifice fly to center,
L Berkman scored. M Ensberg flied out to center. E Bruntlett singled to right
center, C Lee to third. S Rivera relieved M Bacsik. B Ausmus grounded into
fielder's choice to shortstop, E Bruntlett out at second. (2 Runs, 3 Hits,
1 Error) HOUSTON 2, WASHINGTON 1.

WASHINGTON 6TH: N Logan grounded out to second. R Belliard singled to
center. R Zimmerman reached on bunt single to third, R Belliard to second.
D Young homered to right, R Belliard and R Zimmerman scored. R Church struck out
swinging. A Kearns lined out to center. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 2,
WASHINGTON 4.

HOUSTON 8TH: R Fick at first base. R Langerhans in left field. J Rauch
relieved S Rivera. L Berkman popped out to shortstop. C Lee homered to left.
M Loretta singled to right center. M Ensberg flied out to center. M Lamb hit
for E Bruntlett. M Lamb struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 3, WASHINGTON 4.</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOUSTON (3) AT WASHINGTON (4) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Houston Starting Lineups -- C Biggio 2B, H Pence CF, L Berkman RF, C Lee LF,
M Loretta 1B, M Ensberg 3B, E Bruntlett SS, B Ausmus C, W Williams RHP.

Washington Starting Lineups -- N Logan CF, R Belliard 2B, R Zimmerman 3B,
D Young 1B, R Church LF, A Kearns RF, F Lopez SS, B Schneider C, M Bacsik LHP.

Umpires -- John Hirschbeck (HP), Laz Diaz (1B), Wally Bell (2B),
Bill Welke (3B).

Gametime Weather: 87 degrees, Overcast, wind out to left at 11 mph.


HOUSTON 1ST: C Biggio flied out to center. H Pence singled to center.
L Berkman flied out to right. C Lee flied out to left. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors)
HOUSTON 0, WASHINGTON 0.

WASHINGTON 1ST: N Logan grounded out to second. R Belliard struck out
looking. R Zimmerman grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
HOUSTON 0, WASHINGTON 0.

HOUSTON 2ND: M Loretta flied out to right. M Ensberg singled to center.
E Bruntlett lined into double play, right to first, M Ensberg doubled off
first.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, WASHINGTON 0.

WASHINGTON 2ND: D Young grounded out to first. R Church flied out to
right. A Kearns singled to center. F Lopez grounded out to second. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, WASHINGTON 0.

HOUSTON 3RD: B Ausmus struck out swinging. W Williams struck out looking.
C Biggio grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0,
WASHINGTON 0.

WASHINGTON 3RD: B Schneider grounded out to second. M Bacsik grounded out
to first. N Logan grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
HOUSTON 0, WASHINGTON 0.

HOUSTON 4TH: H Pence grounded out to third. L Berkman singled to left.
C Lee walked, L Berkman to second. M Loretta grounded into fielder's choice to
right, L Berkman out at third, C Lee to second. M Ensberg reached on infield
single to shortstop, C Lee to third, M Loretta to second. E Bruntlett grounded
out to first. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, WASHINGTON 0.

WASHINGTON 4TH: R Belliard flied out to center. R Zimmerman reached on
infield single to shortstop. D Young singled to left center, R Zimmerman to
third. R Church grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, R Zimmerman
scored, D Young out at second. A Kearns grounded into fielder's choice to
shortstop, R Church out at second. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0,
WASHINGTON 1.

HOUSTON 5TH: B Ausmus grounded out to third. W Williams flied out to
right. C Biggio grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0,
WASHINGTON 1.

WASHINGTON 5TH: F Lopez bunt grounded out to first. B Schneider flied out
to left. M Bacsik grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
HOUSTON 0, WASHINGTON 1.

HOUSTON 6TH: H Pence safe at second on throwing error by shortstop F Lopez.
L Berkman singled to right center, H Pence to third. C Lee singled to right,
H Pence scored, L Berkman to third. M Loretta hit sacrifice fly to center,
L Berkman scored. M Ensberg flied out to center. E Bruntlett singled to right
center, C Lee to third. S Rivera relieved M Bacsik. B Ausmus grounded into
fielder's choice to shortstop, E Bruntlett out at second. (2 Runs, 3 Hits,
1 Error) HOUSTON 2, WASHINGTON 1.

WASHINGTON 6TH: N Logan grounded out to second. R Belliard singled to
center. R Zimmerman reached on bunt single to third, R Belliard to second.
D Young homered to right, R Belliard and R Zimmerman scored. R Church struck out
swinging. A Kearns lined out to center. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 2,
WASHINGTON 4.

HOUSTON 7TH: O Palmeiro hit for W Williams. O Palmeiro fouled out to left.
C Biggio reached on infield single to first. H Pence grounded into double
play, shortstop to second to first, C Biggio out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) HOUSTON 2, WASHINGTON 4.

WASHINGTON 7TH: T Miller relieved W Williams. F Lopez popped out to first.
B Schneider flied out to left. T Batista hit for S Rivera. C Qualls relieved
T Miller. T Batista singled to right center. N Logan lined out to left. (0 Runs,
1 Hit, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 2, WASHINGTON 4.

HOUSTON 8TH: R Fick at first base. R Langerhans in left field. J Rauch
relieved S Rivera. L Berkman popped out to shortstop. C Lee homered to left.
M Loretta singled to right center. M Ensberg flied out to center. M Lamb hit
for E Bruntlett. M Lamb struck out swinging. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 3, WASHINGTON 4.

WASHINGTON 8TH: M Loretta at shortstop. M Lamb at first base. B Lidge
relieved C Qualls. R Belliard flied out to right. R Zimmerman struck out
looking. R Fick struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 3,
WASHINGTON 4.

HOUSTON 9TH: C Cordero relieved J Rauch. B Ausmus grounded out to catcher.
L Scott hit for B Lidge. L Scott struck out looking. C Biggio struck out
looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 3, WASHINGTON 4.</div>

 

Young leads Nationals past Astros

<h3>WASHINGTON 4, HOUSTON 3</h3>WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Dmitri Young has become a legitimatecandidate in the race for the National League batting title.

Young's three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning wasthe decisive hit in the Washington Nationals' 4-3 victory overthe Houston Astros on Monday.


The homer was one of two hits for Young, who came into Mondaywith a .336 batting average, just three points behind NL leaderMatt Holliday of the Colorado Rockies.


Young, who has never finished a season with a batting averagebetter than .303, improved his average to .339 on Monday and isbatting .404 (76-for-188) over his last 50 games.


Washington fell behind 2-1 in the top of the sixth before Youngrestored the lead in the bottom of the frame.


Ronnie Belliard and Ryan Zimmerman set the table for Young withback-to-back, one-out singles off starter Woody Williams.Batting from the left side, Young crushed a 1-0 offering fromWilliams over the right field wall for his ninth home run of theseason.


Carlos Lee's 17th blast of the season off reliever Jon Rauch inthe top of the eighth cut the lead to one. However, ChadCordero preserved the win with a perfect ninth inning for his16th save of the season.


Williams (4-11) fell to 1-8 in road starts this season, allowingfour runs, six hits and no walks while striking out two in sixinnings.


Early on it appeared that Ryan Church's RBI groundout in thefourth would be all Washington starter Mike Bacsik would need.However, the Astros finally got the better of the lefthander inthe sixth.


Hunter Pence reached second on a throwing error by shortstopFelipe Lopez to open the frame and moved to third on a single byLance Berkman. Lee's RBI single tied the game and Berkmanscored from third moments later on Mark Loretta's sacrifice fly,giving the Astros a 2-1 edge.


After Eric Bruntlett's two-out single put runners on thecorners, Bacsik was replaced by Saul Rivera who preventedfurther damage by inducing a groundout from Brad Ausmus.

Rivera (4-2) allowed one hit in 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earnthe win.


Berkman finished with two hits for the Astros, who have lostfour straight and own the majors worst road record at 15-32.Houston has lost seven consecutive road games and 13 of the last15 contests away from Minute Maid Park.

 

Young leads Nationals past Astros

<h3>WASHINGTON 4, HOUSTON 3</h3>WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Dmitri Young has become a legitimatecandidate in the race for the National League batting title.

Young's three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning wasthe decisive hit in the Washington Nationals' 4-3 victory overthe Houston Astros on Monday.


The homer was one of two hits for Young, who came into Mondaywith a .336 batting average, just three points behind NL leaderMatt Holliday of the Colorado Rockies.


Young, who has never finished a season with a batting averagebetter than .303, improved his average to .339 on Monday and isbatting .404 (76-for-188) over his last 50 games.


Washington fell behind 2-1 in the top of the sixth before Youngrestored the lead in the bottom of the frame.


Ronnie Belliard and Ryan Zimmerman set the table for Young withback-to-back, one-out singles off starter Woody Williams.Batting from the left side, Young crushed a 1-0 offering fromWilliams over the right field wall for his ninth home run of theseason.


Carlos Lee's 17th blast of the season off reliever Jon Rauch inthe top of the eighth cut the lead to one. However, ChadCordero preserved the win with a perfect ninth inning for his16th save of the season.


Williams (4-11) fell to 1-8 in road starts this season, allowingfour runs, six hits and no walks while striking out two in sixinnings.


Early on it appeared that Ryan Church's RBI groundout in thefourth would be all Washington starter Mike Bacsik would need.However, the Astros finally got the better of the lefthander inthe sixth.


Hunter Pence reached second on a throwing error by shortstopFelipe Lopez to open the frame and moved to third on a single byLance Berkman. Lee's RBI single tied the game and Berkmanscored from third moments later on Mark Loretta's sacrifice fly,giving the Astros a 2-1 edge.


After Eric Bruntlett's two-out single put runners on thecorners, Bacsik was replaced by Saul Rivera who preventedfurther damage by inducing a groundout from Brad Ausmus.

Rivera (4-2) allowed one hit in 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earnthe win.


Berkman finished with two hits for the Astros, who have lostfour straight and own the majors worst road record at 15-32.Houston has lost seven consecutive road games and 13 of the last15 contests away from Minute Maid Park.

 

Young leads Nationals past Astros

<h3>WASHINGTON 4, HOUSTON 3</h3>WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Dmitri Young has become a legitimatecandidate in the race for the National League batting title.

Young's three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning wasthe decisive hit in the Washington Nationals' 4-3 victory overthe Houston Astros on Monday.


The homer was one of two hits for Young, who came into Mondaywith a .336 batting average, just three points behind NL leaderMatt Holliday of the Colorado Rockies.


Young, who has never finished a season with a batting averagebetter than .310, improved his average to .339 on Monday and isbatting .404 (76-for-188) over his last 50 games.


Washington fell behind 2-1 in the top of the sixth before Youngrestored the lead in the bottom of the frame.


Ronnie Belliard and Ryan Zimmerman set the table for Young withback-to-back, one-out singles off starter Woody Williams.Batting from the left side, Young crushed a 1-0 offering fromWilliams over the right field wall for his ninth home run of theseason.


Carlos Lee's 17th blast of the season off reliever Jon Rauch inthe top of the eighth cut the lead to one. However, ChadCordero preserved the win with a perfect ninth inning for his16th save of the season.


Williams (4-11) fell to 1-8 in road starts this season, allowingfour runs, six hits and no walks while striking out two in sixinnings.


Early on it appeared that Ryan Church's RBI groundout in thefourth would be all Washington starter Mike Bacsik would need.However, the Astros finally got the better of the lefthander inthe sixth.


Hunter Pence reached second on a throwing error by shortstopFelipe Lopez to open the frame and moved to third on a single byLance Berkman. Lee's RBI single tied the game and Berkmanscored from third moments later on Mark Loretta's sacrifice fly,giving the Astros a 2-1 edge.


After Eric Bruntlett's two-out single put runners on thecorners, Bacsik was replaced by Saul Rivera who preventedfurther damage by inducing a groundout from Brad Ausmus.

Rivera (4-2) allowed one hit in 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earnthe win.


Berkman finished with two hits for the Astros, who have lostfour straight and own the majors worst road record at 15-32.Houston has lost seven consecutive road games and 13 of the last15 contests away from Minute Maid Park.

 

Young leads Nationals past Astros

<h3>WASHINGTON 4, HOUSTON 3</h3>WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- Dmitri Young has become a legitimatecandidate in the race for the National League batting title.

Young's three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning wasthe decisive hit in the Washington Nationals' 4-3 victory overthe Houston Astros on Monday.


The homer was one of two hits for Young, who is batting .339 andtied for the league league in that category with Matt Hollidayof the Colorado Rockies. Young was abruptly released by theDetroit Tigers last September, according to former manager JimLeyland, due to his "performance."


"For him, I'm glad," said Houston manager Phil Garner, whomanaged Young in Detroit in 2002. "I read just recently that hechanged his life around. That's good for him. He didn't havea job. I'd just as soon he hit his home runs against someoneelse, though."


Young, who has never finished a season with a batting averagebetter than .310, is batting .404 (76-for-188) over his last 50games.


Washington fell behind 2-1 in the top of the sixth before Youngrestored the lead in the bottom of the frame.


Ronnie Belliard and Ryan Zimmerman set the table for Young withback-to-back, one-out singles off starter Woody Williams.Batting from the left side, Young crushed a 1-0 offering fromWilliams over the right field wall for his ninth home run of theseason.


"It was a curveball. I looked at it and got good wood on it.We needed those runs - and that was the key," Young said. "Ilike being up in the clutch."


Zimmerman said Young's experience is invaluable to the team.

"Once you learn how to do it, you can't forget," Zimmerman said.

Carlos Lee's 17th blast of the season off reliever Jon Rauch inthe top of the eighth cut the lead to one. However, ChadCordero preserved the win with a perfect ninth inning for his16th save of the season.


Williams (4-11) fell to 1-8 in road starts this season, allowingfour runs, six hits and no walks while striking out two in sixinnings.


"That's the story of my season," Williams said. "A three-runhome run at a time where I can't really afford to do it."

Early on it appeared that Ryan Church's RBI groundout in thefourth would be all Washington starter Mike Bacsik would need.However, the Astros finally got the better of the lefthander inthe sixth.


Hunter Pence reached second on a throwing error by shortstopFelipe Lopez to open the frame and moved to third on a single byLance Berkman. Lee's RBI single tied the game and Berkmanscored from third moments later on Mark Loretta's sacrifice fly,giving the Astros a 2-1 edge.


After Eric Bruntlett's two-out single put runners on thecorners, Bacsik was replaced by Saul Rivera who preventedfurther damage by inducing a groundout from Brad Ausmus.

"The bullpen - once again, it picks us up every time," Bacsiksaid.


Rivera (4-2) allowed one hit in 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earnthe win.


Berkman finished with two hits for the Astros, who have lostfour straight and own the majors worst road record at 15-32.Houston has lost seven consecutive road games and 13 of the last15 contests away from Minute Maid Park.


"The last two games I thought we came up a little short. That'sgoing to happen over the course of the season," Berkman said."We can't afford for it to happen to us. When you get off to abad start, it puts you in a big hole."