GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: HOUSTON (52-65) at LA DODGERS (60-57)

NL: HOUSTON at LA DODGERS

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NL
HOUSTON 4
LA DODGERS 1 FINAL</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at LA DODGERS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOUSTON (4) AT LA DODGERS (1) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HOUSTON 4TH: E Bruntlett singled to right. B Ausmus walked, E Bruntlett to
second. R Oswalt sacrificed to first, E Bruntlett to third, B Ausmus to
second. C Burke grounded out to second, E Bruntlett scored, B Ausmus to third.
M Lamb flied out to center. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 1, LA DODGERS 0.

HOUSTON 5TH: La Dodgers's N Garciaparra ejected by T Hallion. S Hillenbrand
at third base. L Berkman doubled to deep left. C Lee lined out to right,
L Berkman to third. L Scott singled to right, L Berkman scored. J Lane
homered to left, L Scott scored. E Bruntlett struck out swinging. B Ausmus
struck out swinging. (3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 4, LA DODGERS 0.

LA DODGERS 5TH: J Pierre reached on bunt single to shortstop. A Ethier
lined out to second. M Sweeney hit for C Billingsley. M Sweeney singled to
center, J Pierre to third. R Furcal hit sacrifice fly to left, J Pierre
scored, M Sweeney to second. R Martin grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 4, LA DODGERS 1.</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at LA DODGERS

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOUSTON (4) AT LA DODGERS (1) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Houston Starting Lineups -- C Burke 2B, M Lamb 3B, L Berkman 1B, C Lee LF,

Scott RF, J Lane CF, E Bruntlett SS, B Ausmus C, R Oswalt RHP.

La Dodgers Starting Lineups -- R Furcal SS, R Martin C, J Loney 1B, J Kent 2B,
L Gonzalez LF, N Garciaparra 3B, J Pierre CF, A Ethier RF, C Billingsley RHP.

Umpires -- Tom Hallion (HP), Jerry Crawford (1B), James Hoye (2B),
Travis Reininger (3B).

Gametime Weather: 82 degrees, Clear, wind out to center at 7 mph.


HOUSTON 1ST: C Burke struck out swinging. M Lamb grounded out to
shortstop. L Berkman struck out swinging, L Berkman safe at first on wild
pitch by C Billingsley. C Lee popped out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
HOUSTON 0, LA DODGERS 0.

LA DODGERS 1ST: R Furcal reached on infield single to first. R Martin
flied out to right. J Loney grounded into fielder's choice to first, R Furcal
to second. J Kent grounded into double play, shortstop to second to first,
J Loney out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, LA DODGERS 0.

HOUSTON 2ND: L Scott doubled to right. J Lane struck out looking.
E Bruntlett struck out looking. B Ausmus walked. R Oswalt walked, L Scott to
third, B Ausmus to second. C Burke popped out to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, LA DODGERS 0.

LA DODGERS 2ND: L Gonzalez grounded out to third. N Garciaparra flied out
to center. J Pierre singled to center. J Pierre stole second. A Ethier
intentionally walked. C Billingsley grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, LA DODGERS 0.

HOUSTON 3RD: M Lamb singled to right. L Berkman walked, M Lamb to second.
C Lee lined out to third. L Scott flied out to left, M Lamb to third. J Lane
struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0, LA DODGERS 0.

LA DODGERS 3RD: R Furcal struck out looking. R Martin grounded out to
pitcher. J Loney grounded out to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 0,
LA DODGERS 0.

HOUSTON 4TH: E Bruntlett singled to right. B Ausmus walked, E Bruntlett to
second. R Oswalt sacrificed to first, E Bruntlett to third, B Ausmus to
second. C Burke grounded out to second, E Bruntlett scored, B Ausmus to third.
M Lamb flied out to center. (1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 1, LA DODGERS 0.

LA DODGERS 4TH: J Kent grounded out to third. L Gonzalez grounded out to
third. N Garciaparra struck out looking. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 1,
LA DODGERS 0.

HOUSTON 5TH: La Dodgers's N Garciaparra ejected by T Hallion. Hillenbrand at
third base. L Berkman doubled to deep left. C Lee lined out to right, L Berkman
to third. L Scott singled to right, L Berkman scored. J Lane homered to left,
L Scott scored. E Bruntlett struck out swinging. B Ausmus struck out swinging.
(3 Runs, 3 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 4, LA DODGERS 0.

LA DODGERS 5TH: J Pierre reached on bunt single to shortstop. A Ethier
lined out to second. M Sweeney hit for C Billingsley. M Sweeney singled to
center, J Pierre to third. R Furcal hit sacrifice fly to left, J Pierre
scored, M Sweeney to second. R Martin grounded out to shortstop. (1 Run,
2 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 4, LA DODGERS 1.

HOUSTON 6TH: R Hernandez relieved C Billingsley. R Oswalt grounded out to
first. C Burke bunt grounded out to pitcher. M Lamb struck out swinging.
(0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 4, LA DODGERS 1.

LA DODGERS 6TH: J Loney singled to left center. J Kent struck out looking.
L Gonzalez walked, J Loney to second. S Hillenbrand grounded into double
play, second to shortstop to first, L Gonzalez out at second.(0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) HOUSTON 4, LA DODGERS 1.

HOUSTON 7TH: J Beimel relieved R Hernandez. L Berkman singled to left.
C Lee grounded into fielder's choice to third, L Berkman out at second. L Scott
struck out swinging. J Lane walked, C Lee to second. E Bruntlett grounded out
to pitcher. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 4, LA DODGERS 1.

LA DODGERS 7TH: J Pierre singled to center. A Ethier lined out to
shortstop. M Kemp hit for J Beimel. M Kemp flied out to right. R Furcal bunt
grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 4, LA DODGERS 1.

HOUSTON 8TH: J Broxton relieved J Beimel. B Ausmus grounded out to third.
R Oswalt struck out swinging. C Burke struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) HOUSTON 4, LA DODGERS 1.

LA DODGERS 8TH: R Martin grounded out to shortstop. J Loney popped out to
shortstop. J Kent grounded out to third. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 4,
LA DODGERS 1.

HOUSTON 9TH: T Saito relieved J Broxton. M Lamb struck out swinging.
L Berkman flied out to left. C Lee struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) HOUSTON 4, LA DODGERS 1.

LA DODGERS 9TH: C Qualls relieved R Oswalt. L Gonzalez struck out swinging.
S Hillenbrand grounded out to third. J Pierre flied out to left. (0 Runs,
0 Hits, 0 Errors) HOUSTON 4, LA DODGERS 1.</div>

 

Oswalt sharp again as Astros down Dodgers

<h3>HOUSTON 4, LA DODGERS 1</h3>By Chris Padula
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


LOS ANGELES (Ticker) - Roy Oswalt continued his dominance tolead the Houston Astros to a 4-1 victory over the struggling LosAngeles Dodgers on Monday.


Jason Lane homered and Lance Berkman had a pair of hits for theAstros, who have won five of their last seven games.

Oswalt (13-6) has won his last five decisions dating to July 20and has only allowed three earned runs in his last 33 inningspitched. Oswalt's ERA of 0.81 since July 15 leads the NationalLeague.


The ace righthander pitched eight strong innings, allowing onerun, giving up six hits, walking two and striking out three.Oswalt made it through the eighth inning for the first timesince May 2.


With Astros closer Brad Lidge unavailable after pitching in fiveof the last six games, Chad Qualls came in to pick up his thirdsave of the year with a scoreless ninth.


The Dodgers have lost seven straight series and 10 of their last13 games. The offense, which failed to add a bat at thetrading deadline, has only managed to score 27 runs in thatspan.


Houston got to Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley (7-4) in thefourth inning when Eric Bruntlett scored on Chris Burke'sgroundout to make the score 1-0.


Billingsley lasted five innings, allowing four runs and sixhits, while walking four and fanning seven. The 23-year-oldrighthander has now lost his last four decisions and five of hislast six.


The Astros tacked on three more runs in the fifth when Berkmandoubled to lead off the inning and came around to score whenLuke Scott singled to make it a 2-0 game. Lane followed with atwo-run homer for a 4-0 lead.


The Dodgers' lone run came on a sacrifice fly off the bat ofRafael Furcal in the fifth that scored Juan Pierre to make it4-1. Pierre recorded three of the Dodgers' six hits.

 

Oswalt sharp again as Astros down Dodgers

<h3>HOUSTON 4, LA DODGERS 1</h3>By Chris Padula
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


LOS ANGELES (Ticker) - Roy Oswalt continued his dominance tolead the Houston Astros to a 4-1 victory over the struggling LosAngeles Dodgers on Monday.


Jason Lane homered and Lance Berkman had a pair of hits for theAstros, who have won five of their last seven games.

Oswalt (13-6) has won his last five decisions dating to July 20and has only allowed three earned runs in his last 33 inningspitched. Oswalt's ERA of 0.81 since July 15 leads the NationalLeague.


"It's been a nice little streak I have going, and just hope Ican keep it going and help our team win games," Oswalt said.

The ace righthander pitched eight strong innings, allowing onerun, giving up six hits, walking two and striking out three.Oswalt made it through the eighth inning for the first timesince May 2.


"It was good to get some runs early and let me pitch my game,"Oswalt said. "I walked more guys than I wanted to, but I madequality pitches when I had to.


With Astros closer Brad Lidge unavailable after pitching in fiveof the last six games, Chad Qualls came in to pick up his thirdsave of the year with a scoreless ninth.


"Our bullpen had depth tonight, but we just wanted to give Brad(Lidge) the night off," Astros manger Phil Garner said. "Weknow we can count on Qualls to come in and do a good job."

The Dodgers have lost seven straight series and 10 of their last13 games. The offense, which failed to add a bat at thetrading deadline, has only managed to score 27 runs in thatspan.


"Right now we are just struggling to get guys on base and comeup with that big hit," Dodgers manager Grady Little said. "Wejust hope we can snap out of this soon."


Houston got to Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley (7-4) in thefourth inning when Eric Bruntlett scored on Chris Burke'sgroundout to make the score 1-0.


"I missed my spots and left balls up and you just can't do thatagainst any team," Billingsley said. "I have to come back andwork hard, and just keep battling."


Billingsley lasted five innings, allowing four runs and six hitswhile walking four and fanning seven. The 23-year-oldrighthander has now lost his last four decisions and five of hislast six.


"I did manage to strike some people out tonight, but I made alot of pitches," Billingsley said.


The Astros tacked on three more runs in the fifth when Berkmandoubled to lead off the inning and came around to score whenLuke Scott singled to make it a 2-0 game. Lane followed with atwo-run homer for a 4-0 lead.


"Luke came up with a big hit to add on another run for us," Lanesaid. "It was nice for me to adjust and make an adjustment andcome up with a big hit."


The Dodgers' lone run came on a sacrifice fly off the bat ofRafael Furcal in the fifth that scored Juan Pierre to make it4-1. Pierre recorded three of the Dodgers' six hits.

"Were just not doing our jobs," said Dodgers second baseman JeffKent, who is in the midst of an 0-for-22 slump. "It's easy foryou guys to write about this when you are up in the press box."