NL: ST LOUIS (64-64) at HOUSTON (58-74) <h3>Oswalt looks to celebrate birthday in style vs. Cardinals</h3> <div class="pre">St. Louis (64-64) at Houston (58-74) 8:05 pm EDT</div> HOUSTON (Ticker) -- In a otherwise dreary season for the HoustonAstros, Roy Oswalt would like celebrate his 30th birthday instyle and hand his new manager a gift - his first managerialwin. Oswalt will get a chance to do both when the Astros continuetheir three-game series with the surging St. Louis Cardinals onWednesday. Oswalt (13-6, 3.33 ERA), who will be pitching on his birthdayfor the second straight season, is returning to the mound aftermissing a start due to a left oblique strain. In his previousouting, the three-time All-Star allowed two runs and five hitsin 4 2/3 innings in a 3-2 win over the San Diego Padres onAugust 18. The injury was unfortunate as it halted Oswalt's streak of fivestraight winning starts. His track record against the Cardinalsis also solid, as he is 8-5 with a 3.07 ERA in 20 starts andone relief appearance against them. A strong performance by the righthander would likely provide newinterim manager Cecil Cooper with his first managerial winafter taking over for Phil Garner, who was relieved of hisduties on Monday. St. Louis' Kip Wells (6-14, 5.41 ERA) will be asked to continuehis recent success - outside of his last start - in which he hasyielded three runs or less in five of his previous six starts. The one exception was a tough outing on Friday against theAtlanta Braves in which he surrendered seven runs - five earned- and eight hits with five walks over four innings in a 7-2loss. If the righthander hopes to go toe-to-toe with Oswalt, he willlikely need to pitch better than his 4-8 record and 5.34 ERA in16 career starts against Houston. St. Louis has won its last three games, including a 7-0 victorybehind seven strong innings by Braden Looper on Tuesday.
NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON <div class="pre">ST LOUIS AT HOUSTON -- LINEUPS ST LOUIS HOUSTON AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI David Eckstein SS .294 2 24 Hunter Pence CF .321 12 46 Rick Ankiel RF .306 4 10 Craig Biggio 2B .252 10 46 Albert Pujols 1B .322 30 84 Lance Berkman 1B .274 24 82 Jim Edmonds CF .254 9 37 Carlos Lee LF .305 26 102 Chris Duncan LF .273 21 66 Mark Loretta SS .279 2 32 Yadier Molina C .282 4 30 Luke Scott RF .254 14 56 Brendan Ryan 3B .327 4 10 Ty Wigginton 3B .269 3 9 Kip Wells RHP .333 1 5 Brad Ausmus C .231 3 22 (6-14, 5.41) Roy Oswalt RHP .135 0 1 Aaron Miles 2B .298 1 24 (13-6, 3.33)</div>
NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON <div class="pre">NL AT HOUSTON WARMUPS: STL - KIP WELLS (6-14, 5.41) HOU - ROY OSWALT (13-6, 3.33) UMPIRES: HP - TIM TSCHIDA 1B - JIM JOYCE 2B - JIM WOLF 3B - JAMES HOYE WEATHER: INDOORS</div>
NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON <div class="pre">NL AT HOUSTON STARTING BATS: STL - KIP WELLS AND YADIER MOLINA HOU - ROY OSWALT AND BRAD AUSMUS DUE UP FOR ST LOUIS: D ECKSTEIN (.294, 2 HR, 24 RBI) R ANKIEL (.306, 4 HR, 10 RBI) A PUJOLS (.322, 30 HR, 84 RBI)</div>
NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON <div class="pre">NL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - ST LOUIS 0 0 1 0 HOUSTON 0 0 0 (BOT 1) CURRENT PITCHERS: STL - KIP WELLS HOU - ROY OSWALT DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: H PENCE (.321, 12 HR, 46 RBI) C BIGGIO (.252, 10 HR, 46 RBI) L BERKMAN (.274, 24 HR, 82 RBI)</div>
NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON <div class="pre">ST LOUIS (0) VS HOUSTON (0) - MID 1ST - IN PROGRESS ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg D Eckstein ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .293 R Ankiel rf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .320 A Pujols 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .321 J Edmonds cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .254 C Duncan lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .273 Y Molina c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .282 B Ryan 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .327 K Wells p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 A Miles 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .298 Totals 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 BATTING: GIDP - A Pujols. Team LOB - 0. HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg H Pence cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .321 C Biggio 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .252 L Berkman 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .274 C Lee lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .305 M Loretta ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .279 L Scott rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .254 T Wigginton 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269 B Ausmus c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231 R Oswalt p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .135 Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 BATTING: Team LOB - 0. FIELDING: DP: 1 (C Biggio-M Loretta-L Berkman). ---------------------------------------------------- ST LOUIS - 0 -- 0 HOUSTON - -- 0 ---------------------------------------------------- ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era K Wells 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.41 HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era R Oswalt 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.31 Pitches-strikes: R Oswalt 11-8. Ground balls-fly balls: R Oswalt 3-0. Batters faced: R Oswalt 3. UMPIRES: HP--Tim Tschida. 1B--Jim Joyce. 2B--Jim Wolf. 3B--James Hoye. Weather: INDOORS.</div>
NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON <div class="pre">NL AT HOUSTON CONFIRMED STARTERS: STL - KIP WELLS HOU - ROY OSWALT</div>
NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON <div class="pre">NL AT HOUSTON - SCORING UPDATE DOUBLE BY LANCE BERKMAN SCORED CRAIG BIGGIO. SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, L BERKMAN ON SECOND, 1 OUT CURRENT SCORE: ST LOUIS 0 HOUSTON 1 BOTTOM, 1ST DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: C LEE (.305, 26 HR, 102 RBI)</div>
NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON <div class="pre">NL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - ST LOUIS 0 0 1 0 HOUSTON 1 1 2 0 (TOP 2) CURRENT PITCHERS: STL - KIP WELLS HOU - ROY OSWALT DUE UP FOR ST LOUIS: J EDMONDS (.254, 9 HR, 37 RBI) C DUNCAN (.273, 21 HR, 66 RBI) Y MOLINA (.282, 4 HR, 30 RBI)</div>
NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON <div class="pre">ST LOUIS (0) VS HOUSTON (1) - END 1ST - IN PROGRESS ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg D Eckstein ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .293 R Ankiel rf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .320 A Pujols 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .321 J Edmonds cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .254 C Duncan lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .273 Y Molina c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .282 B Ryan 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .327 K Wells p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 A Miles 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .298 Totals 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 BATTING: GIDP - A Pujols. Team LOB - 0. HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg H Pence cf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .323 C Biggio 2b 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 .252 L Berkman 1b 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .276 C Lee lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .304 M Loretta ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .278 L Scott rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .254 T Wigginton 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269 B Ausmus c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231 R Oswalt p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .135 Totals 5 1 2 1 0 0 3 BATTING: 2B - L Berkman (17, K Wells). RBI - L Berkman (83). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Loretta 1. Team LOB - 1. BASERUNNING: SB - L Berkman (6, 3rd base off K Wells/Y Molina). FIELDING: DP: 1 (C Biggio-M Loretta-L Berkman). ---------------------------------------------------- ST LOUIS - 0 -- 0 HOUSTON - 1 -- 1 ---------------------------------------------------- ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era K Wells 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 5.44 HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era R Oswalt 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3.31 Pitches-strikes: K Wells 22-16; R Oswalt 11-8. Ground balls-fly balls: K Wells 2-1; R Oswalt 3-0. Batters faced: K Wells 5; R Oswalt 3. UMPIRES: HP--Tim Tschida. 1B--Jim Joyce. 2B--Jim Wolf. 3B--James Hoye. Weather: INDOORS.</div>
NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON <div class="pre">NL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - ST LOUIS 0 0 0 1 0 HOUSTON 1 1 2 0 (BOT 2) CURRENT PITCHERS: STL - KIP WELLS HOU - ROY OSWALT DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: L SCOTT (.254, 14 HR, 56 RBI) T WIGGINTON (.269, 3 HR, 9 RBI) B AUSMUS (.231, 3 HR, 22 RBI)</div>
NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON <div class="pre">ST LOUIS (0) VS HOUSTON (1) - MID 2ND - IN PROGRESS ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg D Eckstein ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .293 R Ankiel rf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .320 A Pujols 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .321 J Edmonds cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .253 C Duncan lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .272 Y Molina c 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281 B Ryan 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .327 K Wells p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 A Miles 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .298 Totals 6 0 1 0 0 2 1 BATTING: GIDP - A Pujols. Team LOB - 0. HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg H Pence cf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .323 C Biggio 2b 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 .252 L Berkman 1b 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .276 C Lee lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .304 M Loretta ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .278 L Scott rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .254 T Wigginton 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .269 B Ausmus c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231 R Oswalt p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .135 Totals 5 1 2 1 0 0 3 BATTING: 2B - L Berkman (17, K Wells). RBI - L Berkman (83). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Loretta 1. Team LOB - 1. BASERUNNING: SB - L Berkman (6, 3rd base off K Wells/Y Molina). FIELDING: DP: 1 (C Biggio-M Loretta-L Berkman). ---------------------------------------------------- ST LOUIS - 00 -- 0 HOUSTON - 1 -- 1 ---------------------------------------------------- ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era K Wells 1 2 1 1 0 0 0 5.44 HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era R Oswalt 2 1 0 0 0 2 0 3.29 Pitches-strikes: K Wells 22-16; R Oswalt 26-18. Ground balls-fly balls: K Wells 2-1; R Oswalt 4-0. Batters faced: K Wells 5; R Oswalt 6. UMPIRES: HP--Tim Tschida. 1B--Jim Joyce. 2B--Jim Wolf. 3B--James Hoye. Weather: INDOORS.</div>
NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON <div class="pre">NL AT HOUSTON - SCORING UPDATE SOLO HOME RUN BY LUKE SCOTT (15) TO RIGHT WITH 0 OUT IN THE 2ND OFF KIP WELLS. CURRENT SCORE: ST LOUIS 0, HOUSTON 2 DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: T WIGGINTON (.269, 3 HR, 9 RBI)</div>
NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON <div class="pre">NL AT HOUSTON - SCORING UPDATE SINGLE BY ROY OSWALT SCORED BRAD AUSMUS. SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, R OSWALT ON FIRST, 1 OUT CURRENT SCORE: ST LOUIS 0 HOUSTON 3 BOTTOM, 2ND DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: H PENCE (.323, 1-FOR-1)</div>
NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON <div class="pre">NL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - ST LOUIS 0 0 0 0 2 0 HOUSTON 1 2 3 5 0 (BOT 3) CURRENT PITCHERS: STL - KIP WELLS HOU - ROY OSWALT DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: L BERKMAN (.276, 1-FOR-1, RBI) C LEE (.304, 0-FOR-1) M LORETTA (.278, 0-FOR-1)</div>
NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON <div class="pre">ST LOUIS (0) VS HOUSTON (3) - MID 3RD - IN PROGRESS ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg D Eckstein ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .292 R Ankiel rf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .320 A Pujols 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .321 J Edmonds cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .253 C Duncan lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .272 Y Molina c 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281 B Ryan 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .324 K Wells p 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .326 A Miles 2b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .300 Totals 10 0 2 0 0 3 2 BATTING: 2B - A Miles (14, R Oswalt). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - D Eckstein 1. GIDP - A Pujols. Team LOB - 1. FIELDING: DP: 1 (B Ryan-A Pujols). HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg H Pence cf 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 .323 C Biggio 2b 2 1 0 0 0 0 3 .251 L Berkman 1b 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .276 C Lee lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .304 M Loretta ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .278 L Scott rf 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .256 T Wigginton 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .266 B Ausmus c 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .234 R Oswalt p 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .151 Totals 10 3 5 3 1 0 5 BATTING: 2B - L Berkman (17, K Wells). 3B - B Ausmus (2, K Wells). HR - L Scott (15, 2nd inning off K Wells 0 on, 0 Out). RBI - L Berkman (83), L Scott (57), R Oswalt (2). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Loretta 1. GIDP - C Biggio. Team LOB - 2. BASERUNNING: SB - L Berkman (6, 3rd base off K Wells/Y Molina). FIELDING: DP: 1 (C Biggio-M Loretta-L Berkman). ---------------------------------------------------- ST LOUIS - 000 -- 0 HOUSTON - 12 -- 3 ---------------------------------------------------- ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era K Wells 2 5 3 3 1 0 1 5.53 HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era R Oswalt 3 2 0 0 0 3 0 3.28 Pitches-strikes: K Wells 44-28; R Oswalt 41-28. Ground balls-fly balls: K Wells 4-2; R Oswalt 6-0. Batters faced: K Wells 11; R Oswalt 10. UMPIRES: HP--Tim Tschida. 1B--Jim Joyce. 2B--Jim Wolf. 3B--James Hoye. Weather: INDOORS.</div>
NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON <div class="pre">NL AT HOUSTON - SCORING UPDATE SOLO HOME RUN BY LANCE BERKMAN (25) TO RIGHT WITH 0 OUT IN THE 3RD OFF KIP WELLS. CURRENT SCORE: ST LOUIS 0, HOUSTON 4 DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: C LEE (.304, 0-FOR-1)</div>
NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON <div class="pre">NL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - ST LOUIS 0 0 0 0 2 0 HOUSTON 1 2 1 4 7 0 (TOP 4) CURRENT PITCHERS: STL - KIP WELLS HOU - ROY OSWALT DUE UP FOR ST LOUIS: R ANKIEL (.320, 1-FOR-1) A PUJOLS (.321, 0-FOR-1) J EDMONDS (.253, 0-FOR-1)</div>
NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON <div class="pre">ST LOUIS (0) VS HOUSTON (4) - END 3RD - IN PROGRESS ST LOUIS ab r h rbi bb so lob avg D Eckstein ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .292 R Ankiel rf 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .320 A Pujols 1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .321 J Edmonds cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .253 C Duncan lf 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .272 Y Molina c 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .281 B Ryan 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .324 K Wells p 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .326 A Miles 2b 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .300 Totals 10 0 2 0 0 3 2 BATTING: 2B - A Miles (14, R Oswalt). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - D Eckstein 1. GIDP - A Pujols. Team LOB - 1. FIELDING: DP: 1 (B Ryan-A Pujols). HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg H Pence cf 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 .323 C Biggio 2b 2 1 0 0 0 0 3 .251 L Berkman 1b 2 1 2 2 0 0 0 .277 C Lee lf 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 .305 M Loretta ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 .278 L Scott rf 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 .256 T Wigginton 3b 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 .263 B Ausmus c 2 1 1 0 0 0 2 .233 R Oswalt p 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 .151 Totals 15 4 7 4 2 1 10 BATTING: 2B - L Berkman (17, K Wells). 3B - B Ausmus (2, K Wells). HR - L Scott (15, 2nd inning off K Wells 0 on, 0 Out), L Berkman (25, 3rd inning off K Wells 0 on, 0 Out). RBI - L Berkman 2 (84), L Scott (57), R Oswalt (2). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Loretta 1, B Ausmus 1. GIDP - C Biggio. Team LOB - 4. BASERUNNING: SB - L Berkman (6, 3rd base off K Wells/Y Molina). FIELDING: DP: 1 (C Biggio-M Loretta-L Berkman). ---------------------------------------------------- ST LOUIS - 000 -- 0 HOUSTON - 121 -- 4 ---------------------------------------------------- ST LOUIS ip h r er bb so hr era K Wells 3 7 4 4 2 1 2 5.55 HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era R Oswalt 3 2 0 0 0 3 0 3.28 Pitches-strikes: K Wells 68-44; R Oswalt 41-28. Ground balls-fly balls: K Wells 5-3; R Oswalt 6-0. Batters faced: K Wells 17; R Oswalt 10. UMPIRES: HP--Tim Tschida. 1B--Jim Joyce. 2B--Jim Wolf. 3B--James Hoye. Weather: INDOORS.</div>
NL: ST LOUIS at HOUSTON <div class="pre">NL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E - - - - - - - - - - - - ST LOUIS 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 HOUSTON 1 2 1 4 7 0 (BOT 4) CURRENT PITCHERS: STL - KIP WELLS HOU - ROY OSWALT DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: R OSWALT (.151, 1-FOR-1, RBI) H PENCE (.323, 1-FOR-1, BB) C BIGGIO (.251, 0-FOR-2)</div>
