GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NL: HOUSTON (40-54) at WASHINGTON (38-55)

NL: HOUSTON (40-54) at WASHINGTON (38-55)

<h3>Astros seek back-to-back wins</h3>

Houston (40-54) at Washington (38-55) 1:05 pm EDT


WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- The Houston Astros aim to string togethera pair of wins on Wednesday when they host the WashingtonNationals in the finale of a three-game series.


On Tuesday, rookie Hunter Pence and All-Star Carlos Lee eachhomered as the Astros snapped their four-game losing streak witha 4-2 victory.


Houston's triumph also marked closer Brad Lidge's first save ofthe season, as he struck out two batters in an inning. It wasalso the righthander's first save since September 28, 2006 atPittsburgh.


"It definitely felt real good. The whole game felt good," Lidgesaid. "For me personally, it was nice to get that first one.It's been a while."


Another pitcher looking to end a rough stretch, Jason Jennings(1-5, 4.15 ERA) takes the hill for Houston with the hopes ofending his personal four-game losing streak. In his lastouting, Jennings gave up four runs and 10 hits in 5 1/3 inningsin a 6-0 loss at the Chicago Cubs.


The righthander is just 2-3 with a 5.30 ERA in seven careerstarts against Washington, which had its four-game home winningstreak snapped in Tuesday's loss.


The Nationals counter with Jason Bergmann (1-5, 4.32), who alsois winless in his last four starts. Bergmann was hammered for aseason-worst eight runs in 4 1/3 frames but did not factor in a14-10 win at the Florida Marlins on Friday.


The righthander will be making his first career start againstHouston.


Washington catcher Brian Schneider will miss the matchup aftergetting hit in the right elbow in the eighth inning of Tuesday'sgame. He is listed as day-to-day.

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">HOUSTON AT WASHINGTON -- LINEUPS

HOUSTON WASHINGTON
AVG HR RBI AVG HR RBI
Chris Burke 2B .228 2 11 Felipe Lopez SS .238 4 35
Hunter Pence CF .334 12 44 Ronnie Belliard 2B .311 5 28
Lance Berkman 1B .261 15 60 Ryan Zimmerman 3B .259 15 47
Carlos Lee LF .298 18 77 Dmitri Young 1B .341 9 52
Mark Loretta SS .312 2 30 Ryan Church LF .259 7 38
Mike Lamb 3B .292 8 26 Austin Kearns RF .249 5 34
Luke Scott RF .225 10 39 Ryan Langerhans CF .166 4 15
Eric Munson C .263 2 7 Jesus Flores C .231 1 9
Jason Jennings RHP .077 0 0 Jason Bergmann RHP .091 0 0
(1-5, 4.15) (1-5, 4.32)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL AT WASHINGTON
WARMUPS: HOU - JASON JENNINGS (1-5, 4.15)
WAS - JASON BERGMANN (1-5, 4.32)

UMPIRES: HP - WALLY BELL
1B - BILL WELKE
2B - JOHN HIRSCHBECK
3B - LAZ DIAZ

WEATHER: 86 Degrees, partly cloudy
WIND: 5 mph, swirling</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL AT WASHINGTON
STARTING BATS: HOU - JASON JENNINGS AND ERIC MUNSON
WAS - JASON BERGMANN AND JESUS FLORES

DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: C BURKE (.228, 2 HR, 11 RBI)
H PENCE (.334, 12 HR, 44 RBI)
L BERKMAN (.261, 15 HR, 60 RBI)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

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

CURRENT PITCHERS: HOU - JASON JENNINGS
WAS - JASON BERGMANN

DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: F LOPEZ (.238, 4 HR, 35 RBI)
R BELLIARD (.311, 5 HR, 28 RBI)
R ZIMMERMAN (.259, 15 HR, 47 RBI)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">HOUSTON (0) VS WASHINGTON (0) - MID 1ST - IN PROGRESS

HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Burke 2b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .228
H Pence cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .333
L Berkman 1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .260
C Lee lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .297
M Loretta ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .312
M Lamb 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .292
L Scott rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .225
E Munson c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .263
J Jennings p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .077

Totals 3 0 0 0 1 1 3

BATTING: Team LOB - 1.


WASHINGTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
F Lopez ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .238
R Belliard 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .311
R Zimmerman 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .259
D Young 1b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .341
R Church lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .259
A Kearns rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .249
R Langerhans cf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .166
J Flores c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231
J Bergmann p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .091

Totals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

BATTING: Team LOB - 0.


----------------------------------------------------
HOUSTON - 0 -- 0
WASHINGTON - -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Jennings 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.15

WASHINGTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Bergmann 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 4.26

Pitches-strikes: J Bergmann 14-9. Ground balls-fly balls: J Bergmann 0-2.
Batters faced: J Bergmann 4.

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

Weather: 90 degrees, overcast. Wind: 8 mph, in from left.</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL AT WASHINGTON
CONFIRMED STARTERS: HOU - JASON JENNINGS
WAS - JASON BERGMANN</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL AT WASHINGTON - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY RYAN CHURCH SCORED RYAN ZIMMERMAN.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, R CHURCH ON SECOND, D YOUNG ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: HOUSTON 0
WASHINGTON 1 BOTTOM, 1ST

DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: A KEARNS (.249, 5 HR, 34 RBI)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL AT WASHINGTON - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY AUSTIN KEARNS SCORED DMITRI YOUNG AND RYAN
CHURCH.
SITUATION: 3 RUNS IN, A KEARNS ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: HOUSTON 0
WASHINGTON 3 BOTTOM, 1ST

DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: R LANGERHANS (.166, 4 HR, 15 RBI)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

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

CURRENT PITCHERS: HOU - JASON JENNINGS
WAS - JASON BERGMANN

DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: M LORETTA (.312, 2 HR, 30 RBI)
M LAMB (.292, 8 HR, 26 RBI)
L SCOTT (.225, 10 HR, 39 RBI)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">HOUSTON (0) VS WASHINGTON (3) - END 1ST - IN PROGRESS

HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Burke 2b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .228
H Pence cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .333
L Berkman 1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .260
C Lee lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .297
M Loretta ss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .312
M Lamb 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .292
L Scott rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .225
E Munson c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .263
J Jennings p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .077

Totals 3 0 0 0 1 1 3

BATTING: Team LOB - 1.


WASHINGTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
F Lopez ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .237
R Belliard 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .310
R Zimmerman 3b 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .259
D Young 1b 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .341
R Church lf 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .262
A Kearns rf 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 .251
R Langerhans cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .165
J Flores c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231
J Bergmann p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .091

Totals 5 3 2 3 2 0 1

BATTING: 2B - R Church (27, J Jennings); A Kearns (22, J Jennings). RBI - R
Church (39), A Kearns 2 (36). 2-out RBI - R Church, A Kearns 2. Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - R Langerhans 1. Team LOB - 1.


----------------------------------------------------
HOUSTON - 0 -- 0
WASHINGTON - 3 -- 3
----------------------------------------------------

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Jennings 1 2 3 3 2 0 0 4.50

WASHINGTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Bergmann 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 4.26

Pitches-strikes: J Jennings 28-13; J Bergmann 14-9. Ground balls-fly balls: J
Jennings 1-2; J Bergmann 0-2. Batters faced: J Jennings 7; J Bergmann 4.

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

Weather: 90 degrees, overcast. Wind: 8 mph, in from left.</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL AT WASHINGTON - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY MIKE LAMB (9) TO RIGHT CENTER WITH 1 OUT
IN THE 2ND OFF JASON BERGMANN.
CURRENT SCORE: HOUSTON 1, WASHINGTON 3

DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: L SCOTT (.225, 10 HR, 39 RBI)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

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

CURRENT PITCHERS: HOU - JASON JENNINGS
WAS - JASON BERGMANN

DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: J FLORES (.231, 1 HR, 9 RBI)
J BERGMANN (.091, 0 HR, 0 RBI)
F LOPEZ (.237, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">HOUSTON (1) VS WASHINGTON (3) - MID 2ND - IN PROGRESS

HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Burke 2b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .228
H Pence cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .333
L Berkman 1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .260
C Lee lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .297
M Loretta ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .310
M Lamb 3b 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .296
L Scott rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .224
E Munson c 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .276
J Jennings p 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .071

Totals 8 1 2 1 1 1 4

BATTING: HR - M Lamb (9, 2nd inning off J Bergmann 0 on, 1 Out). RBI - M Lamb
(27). Team LOB - 2.


WASHINGTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
F Lopez ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .237
R Belliard 2b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .310
R Zimmerman 3b 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .259
D Young 1b 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .341
R Church lf 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .262
A Kearns rf 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 .251
R Langerhans cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .165
J Flores c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .231
J Bergmann p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .091

Totals 5 3 2 3 2 0 1

BATTING: 2B - R Church (27, J Jennings); A Kearns (22, J Jennings). RBI - R
Church (39), A Kearns 2 (36). 2-out RBI - R Church, A Kearns 2. Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - R Langerhans 1. Team LOB - 1.


----------------------------------------------------
HOUSTON - 01 -- 1
WASHINGTON - 3 -- 3
----------------------------------------------------

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Jennings 1 2 3 3 2 0 0 4.50

WASHINGTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Bergmann 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 4.33

Pitches-strikes: J Jennings 28-13; J Bergmann 27-17. Ground balls-fly balls:
J Jennings 1-2; J Bergmann 0-5. Batters faced: J Jennings 7; J Bergmann 9.

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

Weather: 90 degrees, overcast. Wind: 8 mph, in from left.</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL AT WASHINGTON - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY RONNIE BELLIARD SCORED JESUS FLORES.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, R BELLIARD ON SECOND, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: HOUSTON 1
WASHINGTON 4 BOTTOM, 2ND

DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: R ZIMMERMAN (.259, 0-FOR-0, BB)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">NL HOUSTON AT WASHINGTON
NOTE: WASHINGTON SECOND BASEMAN RONNIE BELLIARD EXTENDED
HIS HITTING STREAK TO 11 GAMES WITH A DOUBLE IN THE SECOND INNING.</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

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

CURRENT PITCHERS: HOU - JASON JENNINGS
WAS - JASON BERGMANN

DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: C BURKE (.228, 0-FOR-0, BB)
H PENCE (.333, 0-FOR-1)
L BERKMAN (.260, 0-FOR-1)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">HOUSTON (1) VS WASHINGTON (4) - END 2ND - IN PROGRESS

HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Burke 2b 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .228
H Pence cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .333
L Berkman 1b 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .260
C Lee lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .297
M Loretta ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .310
M Lamb 3b 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .296
L Scott rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .224
E Munson c 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .276
J Jennings p 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .071

Totals 8 1 2 1 1 1 4

BATTING: HR - M Lamb (9, 2nd inning off J Bergmann 0 on, 1 Out). RBI - M Lamb
(27). Team LOB - 2.


WASHINGTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
F Lopez ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .237
R Belliard 2b 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 .312
R Zimmerman 3b 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 .258
D Young 1b 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .341
R Church lf 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .262
A Kearns rf 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 .251
R Langerhans cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .165
J Flores c 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .241
J Bergmann p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .091

Totals 9 4 4 4 2 0 2

BATTING: 2B - R Church (27, J Jennings); A Kearns (22, J Jennings); R Belliard
(18, J Jennings). S - J Bergmann. RBI - R Church (39), A Kearns 2 (36), R
Belliard (29). 2-out RBI - R Church, A Kearns 2, R Belliard. Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - R Langerhans 1, R Zimmerman 1. Team LOB - 2.


----------------------------------------------------
HOUSTON - 01 -- 1
WASHINGTON - 31 -- 4
----------------------------------------------------

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Jennings 2 4 4 4 2 0 0 4.57

WASHINGTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Bergmann 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 4.33

Pitches-strikes: J Jennings 45-26; J Bergmann 27-17. Ground balls-fly balls:
J Jennings 4-2; J Bergmann 0-5. Batters faced: J Jennings 12; J Bergmann 9.

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

Weather: 90 degrees, overcast. Wind: 8 mph, in from left.</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

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

CURRENT PITCHERS: HOU - JASON JENNINGS
WAS - JASON BERGMANN

DUE UP FOR WASHINGTON: D YOUNG (.341, 0-FOR-0, BB)
R CHURCH (.262, 1-FOR-1, RBI)
A KEARNS (.251, 1-FOR-1, 2 RBI)</div>

 

NL: HOUSTON at WASHINGTON

<div class="pre">HOUSTON (1) VS WASHINGTON (4) - MID 3RD - IN PROGRESS

HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Burke 2b 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .227
H Pence cf 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 .332
L Berkman 1b 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 .259
C Lee lf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .297
M Loretta ss 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .310
M Lamb 3b 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .296
L Scott rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .224
E Munson c 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .276
J Jennings p 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .071

Totals 11 1 2 1 1 2 4

BATTING: HR - M Lamb (9, 2nd inning off J Bergmann 0 on, 1 Out). RBI - M Lamb
(27). Team LOB - 2.


WASHINGTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
F Lopez ss 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .237
R Belliard 2b 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 .312
R Zimmerman 3b 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 .258
D Young 1b 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 .341
R Church lf 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 .262
A Kearns rf 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 .251
R Langerhans cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .165
J Flores c 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 .241
J Bergmann p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .091

Totals 9 4 4 4 2 0 2

BATTING: 2B - R Church (27, J Jennings); A Kearns (22, J Jennings); R Belliard
(18, J Jennings). S - J Bergmann. RBI - R Church (39), A Kearns 2 (36), R
Belliard (29). 2-out RBI - R Church, A Kearns 2, R Belliard. Runners left in
scoring position, 2 out - R Langerhans 1, R Zimmerman 1. Team LOB - 2.


----------------------------------------------------
HOUSTON - 010 -- 1
WASHINGTON - 31 -- 4
----------------------------------------------------

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Jennings 2 4 4 4 2 0 0 4.57

WASHINGTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Bergmann 3 2 1 1 1 2 1 4.26

Pitches-strikes: J Jennings 45-26; J Bergmann 37-25. Ground balls-fly balls:
J Jennings 4-2; J Bergmann 2-5. Batters faced: J Jennings 12; J Bergmann 12.

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

Weather: 90 degrees, overcast. Wind: 8 mph, in from left.</div>