GAME THREAD: NL: WASHINGTON (55-69) at HOUSTON (56-68)

NL: WASHINGTON at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
WASHINGTON 0 1 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 7 14 0
HOUSTON 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 (BOT 9)

CURRENT PITCHERS: WAS - JESUS COLOME
HOU - TREVER MILLER

DUE UP FOR HOUSTON: T WIGGINTON (.279, 0-FOR-3)
J LANE (.178, 0-FOR-2, BB)
E MUNSON (.265, 1-FOR-3)</div>

 

NL: WASHINGTON at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">WASHINGTON (7) VS HOUSTON (0) - MID 9TH - IN PROGRESS

WASHINGTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
F Lopez ss 5 1 1 0 0 2 0 .243
R Belliard 2b 4 0 3 0 1 0 1 .283
R Zimmerman 3b 4 1 0 0 1 2 4 .268
J Colome p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
D Young 1b 4 2 2 3 0 0 2 .332
a-R Fick ph-1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .204
A Kearns rf 4 1 3 0 1 1 0 .257
R Church cf 4 1 2 1 0 2 2 .264
N Logan cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .271
W Pena lf 4 1 3 2 1 0 2 .455
B Schneider c 4 0 0 1 0 1 7 .229
T Redding p 4 0 0 0 0 3 4 .105
T Batista 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .271

Totals 40 7 14 7 4 11 26

a-grounded to second for D Young in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - R Belliard (24, J Jennings); R Church (36, J Jennings); A Kearns
2 (28, T Miller, J Gutierrez). HR - W Pena (2, 2nd inning off J Jennings 0 on,
2 Out), D Young (12, 3rd inning off J Jennings 2 on, 2 Out). SF - B Schneider.
RBI - W Pena 2 (3), D Young 3 (67), R Church (49), B Schneider (41). 2-out RBI
- W Pena 2, D Young 3, R Church. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - T
Redding 2, T Batista 1, D Young 1. Team LOB - 11.

BASERUNNING: SB - F Lopez (19, 2nd base off J Jennings/E Munson).

FIELDING: DP: 3 (F Lopez-R Belliard-D Young, R Zimmerman-R Belliard-D Young,
F Lopez-D Young).


HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Biggio 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .250
M Loretta ss 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 .281
L Berkman 1b 3 0 3 0 1 0 0 .273
C Lee lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 4 .300
T Miller p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
L Scott rf 3 0 0 0 1 1 4 .254
T Wigginton 3b-lf 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 .279
J Lane cf 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 .178
E Munson c 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 .265
J Jennings p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .077
J Gutierrez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-O Palmeiro ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .236
B Moehler p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
b-E Bruntlett ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .252
D Borkowski p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
M Lamb 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .291

Totals 28 0 7 0 4 2 19

a-singled to right for J Gutierrez in the 5th; b-flied out to center for B
Moehler in the 7th.

BATTING: Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - T Wigginton 1, J Lane 1, L
Scott 1. GIDP - M Loretta 2, C Lee. Team LOB - 8.


----------------------------------------------------
WASHINGTON - 015 010 000 -- 7
HOUSTON - 000 000 00 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

WASHINGTON ip h r er bb so hr era
T Redding 7 6 0 0 3 2 0 2.53
J Colome 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 2.70

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Jennings 4 7 6 6 2 6 2 6.45
J Gutierrez 1 2 1 1 1 2 0 4.50
B Moehler 2 3 0 0 0 1 0 4.95
D Borkowski 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 5.24
T Miller 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 4.95

WP - T Redding. IBB - W Pena (by J Gutierrez). Pitches-strikes: T Redding
116-70; J Colome 19-10; J Jennings 83-48; J Gutierrez 24-13; B Moehler 24-16; D
Borkowski 25-18; T Miller 21-15. Ground balls-fly balls: T Redding 11-8; J
Colome 1-2; J Jennings 1-5; J Gutierrez 0-1; B Moehler 2-3; D Borkowski 2-0; T
Miller 1-1. Batters faced: T Redding 27; J Colome 5; J Jennings 21; J Gutierrez
6; B Moehler 9; D Borkowski 4; T Miller 5.

UMPIRES: HP--Tim Tschida. 1B--Jim Joyce. 2B--Jim Wolf. 3B--Mike Dimuro.

Weather: INDOORS.</div>

 

NL: WASHINGTON at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
WASHINGTON 0 1 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 7 14 0
HOUSTON 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: WAS - TIM REDDING, JESUS COLOME (8TH) AND BRIAN SCHNEIDER

HOU - JASON JENNINGS, JUAN GUTIERREZ (5TH), BRIAN
MOEHLER (6TH), DAVE BORKOWSKI (8TH), TREVER MILLER (9TH) AND
ERIC MUNSON

HOME RUNS: WAS - WILY MO PENA (2) OFF JASON JENNINGS IN THE 2ND, 0 ON
DMITRI YOUNG (12) OFF JASON JENNINGS IN THE 3RD, 2 ON

HOU - NONE</div>

 

NL: WASHINGTON at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">NL FINAL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
WASHINGTON 0 1 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 7 14 0
HOUSTON 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 (FINAL)

BATTERIES: WAS - TIM REDDING, JESUS COLOME (8TH) AND BRIAN SCHNEIDER

HOU - JASON JENNINGS, JUAN GUTIERREZ (5TH), BRIAN
MOEHLER (6TH), DAVE BORKOWSKI (8TH), TREVER MILLER (9TH) AND
ERIC MUNSON


WP - TIM REDDING (3-3)
LP - JASON JENNINGS (2-9)
SAVE - NONE

HOME RUNS: WAS - WILY MO PENA (2) OFF JASON JENNINGS IN THE 2ND, 0 ON
DMITRI YOUNG (12) OFF JASON JENNINGS IN THE 3RD, 2 ON

HOU - NONE


TIME: 3:09 ATT: 30,374

PROBABLES: WAS - JOEL HANRAHAN (2-1, 2.95)
HOU - WANDY RODRIGUEZ (7-11, 4.31)</div>

 

NL: WASHINGTON at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">WASHINGTON (7) VS HOUSTON (0) - FINAL

WASHINGTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
F Lopez ss 5 1 1 0 0 2 0 .243
R Belliard 2b 4 0 3 0 1 0 1 .283
R Zimmerman 3b 4 1 0 0 1 2 4 .268
J Colome p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
D Young 1b 4 2 2 3 0 0 2 .332
a-R Fick ph-1b 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .204
A Kearns rf 4 1 3 0 1 1 0 .257
R Church cf 4 1 2 1 0 2 2 .264
N Logan cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .271
W Pena lf 4 1 3 2 1 0 2 .455
B Schneider c 4 0 0 1 0 1 7 .229
T Redding p 4 0 0 0 0 3 4 .105
T Batista 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .271

Totals 40 7 14 7 4 11 26

a-grounded to second for D Young in the 8th.

BATTING: 2B - R Belliard (24, J Jennings); R Church (36, J Jennings); A Kearns
2 (28, T Miller, J Gutierrez). HR - W Pena (2, 2nd inning off J Jennings 0 on,
2 Out), D Young (12, 3rd inning off J Jennings 2 on, 2 Out). SF - B Schneider.
RBI - W Pena 2 (3), D Young 3 (67), R Church (49), B Schneider (41). 2-out RBI
- W Pena 2, D Young 3, R Church. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - T
Redding 2, T Batista 1, D Young 1. Team LOB - 11.

BASERUNNING: SB - F Lopez (19, 2nd base off J Jennings/E Munson).

FIELDING: DP: 3 (F Lopez-R Belliard-D Young, R Zimmerman-R Belliard-D Young,
F Lopez-D Young).


HOUSTON ab r h rbi bb so lob avg
C Biggio 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 .250
M Loretta ss 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 .281
L Berkman 1b 3 0 3 0 1 0 0 .273
C Lee lf 4 0 1 0 0 0 4 .300
T Miller p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
L Scott rf 3 0 0 0 1 1 4 .254
T Wigginton 3b-lf 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .274
J Lane cf 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 .177
E Munson c 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .262
J Jennings p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .077
J Gutierrez p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
a-O Palmeiro ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .236
B Moehler p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
b-E Bruntlett ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .252
D Borkowski p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
M Lamb 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .291

Totals 31 0 7 0 4 2 19

a-singled to right for J Gutierrez in the 5th; b-flied out to center for B
Moehler in the 7th.

BATTING: Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - T Wigginton 1, J Lane 1, L
Scott 1. GIDP - M Loretta 2, C Lee. Team LOB - 8.


----------------------------------------------------
WASHINGTON - 015 010 000 -- 7
HOUSTON - 000 000 000 -- 0
----------------------------------------------------

WASHINGTON ip h r er bb so hr era
T Redding (W, 3-3) 7 6 0 0 3 2 0 2.53
J Colome 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 2.64

HOUSTON ip h r er bb so hr era
J Jennings (L, 2-9) 4 7 6 6 2 6 2 6.45
J Gutierrez 1 2 1 1 1 2 0 4.50
B Moehler 2 3 0 0 0 1 0 4.95
D Borkowski 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 5.24
T Miller 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 4.95

WP - T Redding. IBB - W Pena (by J Gutierrez). Pitches-strikes: T Redding
116-70; J Colome 29-16; J Jennings 83-48; J Gutierrez 24-13; B Moehler 24-16; D
Borkowski 25-18; T Miller 21-15. Ground balls-fly balls: T Redding 11-8; J
Colome 1-5; J Jennings 1-5; J Gutierrez 0-1; B Moehler 2-3; D Borkowski 2-0; T
Miller 1-1. Batters faced: T Redding 27; J Colome 8; J Jennings 21; J Gutierrez
6; B Moehler 9; D Borkowski 4; T Miller 5.

UMPIRES: HP--Tim Tschida. 1B--Jim Joyce. 2B--Jim Wolf. 3B--Mike Dimuro.

T--3:09. Att--30,374.
Weather: INDOORS</div>

 

NL: WASHINGTON at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NL
WASHINGTON 7
HOUSTON 0 FINAL</div>

 

Nationals' Redding dazzles in return to Minute Maid Park

<h3>WASHINGTON 7, HOUSTON 0</h3>By Jeremy Rakes
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


HOUSTON (Ticker) - Tim Redding made an impressive return toMinute Maid Park.


Redding threw seven shutout innings and All-Star Dmitri Younghomered as the Washington Nationals coasted to a 7-0 victoryover the Houston Astros in Monday's series opener.

A former Astro, Redding yielded six hits with three walks andtwo strikeouts in his first trip to Houston since being dealt inthe spring of 2005. He was drafted by the Astros in 1997.

Redding (3-3) once was promising prospect in Houston's farmsystem but never panned out, going 21-28 with a 4.75 ERA from2001-04 before he was dealt to San Diego.


The 29-year-old was in danger in the fifth inning with runnerson the corners, but got Craig Biggio to fly out and forced MarkLoretta to ground into an inning-ending double play.

With Washington holding a 1-0 lead in the third, Young stroked athree-run shot, Ryan Church added an RBI double before Wily MoPena's run-scoring base hit capped an impressive five-runuprising off Astros starter Jason Jennings (2-9).


Acquired from the Boston Red Sox on Friday, Pena opened thescoring in the second with his seventh homer of the season andsecond in as many nights. His homered was measured at 390 feet.

Washington added an insurance run in the fifth on BrianSchneider's sacrifice fly that plated Young, who laced a leadoffsingle.


It was another disappointing outing for Jennings, who gave upsix runs and seven hits through four frames to fall to 0-2against Washington this season. He was tagged for seven runs infive innings at RFK Stadium on June 18.


In his last five starts, Jennings has an ERA of 11.86, with allof those outings ending in Astros' losses. Houston's startershave allowed more than three earned runs four times in the last14 games, with the righthander starting three of those games.

 

NL: WASHINGTON at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WASHINGTON (7) AT HOUSTON (0) - HOW THEY SCORED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WASHINGTON 2ND: A Kearns struck out swinging. R Church struck out
swinging. W Pena homered to left. B Schneider grounded out to shortstop.
(1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 1, HOUSTON 0.

WASHINGTON 3RD: T Redding struck out swinging. F Lopez singled to left.
R Belliard flied out to center. F Lopez stole second. R Zimmerman walked.
D Young homered to right, F Lopez and R Zimmerman scored. A Kearns walked.
R Church doubled to deep right, A Kearns scored. W Pena singled to center,
R Church scored. B Schneider flied out to left. (5 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors)
WASHINGTON 6, HOUSTON 0.

WASHINGTON 5TH: J Gutierrez relieved J Jennings. D Young singled to left.
A Kearns doubled to left, D Young to third. R Church struck out swinging.
W Pena intentionally walked. B Schneider hit sacrifice fly to left, D Young
scored. T Redding struck out looking. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 7,
HOUSTON 0.</div>

 

NL: WASHINGTON at HOUSTON

<div class="pre">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WASHINGTON (7) AT HOUSTON (0) - EVENT LOG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Washington Starting Lineups -- F Lopez SS, R Belliard 2B, R Zimmerman 3B,
D Young 1B, A Kearns RF, R Church CF, W Pena LF, B Schneider C, T Redding RHP.

Houston Starting Lineups -- C Biggio 2B, M Loretta SS, L Berkman 1B, C Lee LF,
L Scott RF, T Wigginton 3B, J Lane CF, E Munson C, J Jennings RHP.

Umpires -- Tim Tschida (HP), Jim Joyce (1B), Jim Wolf (2B), Mike Dimuro (3B).


Gametime Weather: INDOORS.


WASHINGTON 1ST: F Lopez lined out to center. R Belliard doubled to deep
left center. R Zimmerman struck out swinging. D Young flied out to center.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, HOUSTON 0.

HOUSTON 1ST: C Biggio singled to right. M Loretta grounded into double
play, shortstop to second to first, C Biggio out at second. L Berkman walked.
C Lee grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, L Berkman out at second.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 0, HOUSTON 0.

WASHINGTON 2ND: A Kearns struck out swinging. R Church struck out
swinging. W Pena homered to left. B Schneider grounded out to shortstop.
(1 Run, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 1, HOUSTON 0.

HOUSTON 2ND: L Scott grounded out to second. T Wigginton grounded out to
shortstop. J Lane walked. E Munson grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) WASHINGTON 1, HOUSTON 0.

WASHINGTON 3RD: T Redding struck out swinging. F Lopez singled to left.
R Belliard flied out to center. F Lopez stole second. R Zimmerman walked.
D Young homered to right, F Lopez and R Zimmerman scored. A Kearns walked.
R Church doubled to deep right, A Kearns scored. W Pena singled to center,
R Church scored. B Schneider flied out to left. (5 Runs, 4 Hits, 0 Errors)
WASHINGTON 6, HOUSTON 0.

HOUSTON 3RD: J Jennings lined out to shortstop. C Biggio flied out to
right. M Loretta grounded out to shortstop. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors)
WASHINGTON 6, HOUSTON 0.

WASHINGTON 4TH: T Redding flied out to right. F Lopez struck out swinging.
R Belliard singled to left. R Zimmerman struck out swinging. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) WASHINGTON 6, HOUSTON 0.

HOUSTON 4TH: L Berkman singled to center. C Lee singled to left, L Berkman
to second. L Scott struck out looking. T Wigginton struck out swinging.
J Lane fouled out to first. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 6, HOUSTON 0.

WASHINGTON 5TH: J Gutierrez relieved J Jennings. D Young singled to left.
A Kearns doubled to left, D Young to third. R Church struck out swinging.
W Pena intentionally walked. B Schneider hit sacrifice fly to left, D Young
scored. T Redding struck out looking. (1 Run, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 7,
HOUSTON 0.

HOUSTON 5TH: E Munson singled to right center. O Palmeiro hit for
J Gutierrez. O Palmeiro singled to right, E Munson to third. C Biggio fouled out
to right. M Loretta grounded into double play, third to second to first,
O Palmeiro out at second.(0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 7, HOUSTON 0.

WASHINGTON 6TH: B Moehler relieved J Gutierrez. F Lopez grounded out to
pitcher. R Belliard singled to center. R Zimmerman popped out to second.
D Young grounded out to first. (0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 7, HOUSTON 0.

HOUSTON 6TH: L Berkman reached on infield single to second. C Lee grounded
into double play, shortstop to first, L Berkman out at second. L Scott walked.
L Scott to second on wild pitch by T Redding. T Wigginton flied out to center.
(0 Runs, 1 Hit, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 7, HOUSTON 0.

WASHINGTON 7TH: A Kearns singled to right center. R Church singled to
right, A Kearns to second. W Pena flied out to center. B Schneider flied out
to center. T Redding struck out looking. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors)
WASHINGTON 7, HOUSTON 0.

HOUSTON 7TH: J Lane lined out to center. E Munson flied out to right.
E Bruntlett hit for B Moehler. E Bruntlett flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits,
0 Errors) WASHINGTON 7, HOUSTON 0.

WASHINGTON 8TH: D Borkowski relieved B Moehler. F Lopez struck out
swinging. R Belliard walked. R Zimmerman grounded into fielder's choice to
third, R Belliard out at second. R Fick hit for D Young. R Fick grounded out
to second. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 7, HOUSTON 0.

HOUSTON 8TH: J Colome relieved T Redding. R Fick at first base. N Logan in
center field. T Batista at third base. C Biggio grounded out to third.
M Loretta walked. L Berkman singled to center, M Loretta to second. C Lee
popped out to shortstop. L Scott flied out to center. (0 Runs, 1 Hit,
0 Errors) WASHINGTON 7, HOUSTON 0.

WASHINGTON 9TH: T Miller relieved D Borkowski. T Wigginton in left field.
M Lamb at third base. A Kearns doubled to deep center. N Logan flied out to
center. W Pena singled to center, A Kearns to third. B Schneider struck out
swinging. T Batista grounded into fielder's choice to shortstop, W Pena out at
second. (0 Runs, 2 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 7, HOUSTON 0.

HOUSTON 9TH: T Wigginton popped out to second. J Lane flied out to center.
E Munson flied out to center. (0 Runs, 0 Hits, 0 Errors) WASHINGTON 7,
HOUSTON 0.</div>

 

Nationals' Redding dazzles in return to Minute Maid Park

<h3>WASHINGTON 7, HOUSTON 0</h3>By Jeremy Rakes
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


HOUSTON (Ticker) - Tim Redding made an impressive return toMinute Maid Park.


Redding threw seven shutout innings and All-Star Dmitri Younghomered as the Washington Nationals coasted to a 7-0 victoryover the Houston Astros in Monday's series opener.

A former Astro, Redding yielded six hits with three walks andtwo strikeouts in his first trip to Houston since being dealt inthe spring of 2005. He was drafted by the Astros in 1997.

"(Monday) had nothing to do with wanting to prove something orshow them anything," Redding said. "It was a mutual break. Ifelt I needed to leave there to try to get my career going theway I thought it was supposed to get going."


"Everyone knows that he was called up because we needed a guydue to injuries," Washington manager Manny Acta said. "It seemslike his stuff is back. He's done a tremendous job for us."

Redding said he had no hard feeling toward Houston.

"They were in a situation where they needed to get a catcher,"he said. "It worked out both ways. There were no hard<div class="pre">feelings. Do I wish I could have stayed> Sure I wish I could</div>have done well and stayed. But the business of this game is tomove on."


Redding (3-3) once was promising prospect in Houston's farmsystem but never panned out, going 21-28 with a 4.75 ERA from2001-04 before he was dealt to San Diego.


The 29-year-old was in danger in the fifth inning with runnerson the corners, but got Craig Biggio to fly out and forced MarkLoretta to ground into an inning-ending double play.

"Hats off to the guys behind me for being on their toes. Thedouble plays were huge," Redding said. "It didn't seem like Ihad a real easy inning until the seventh. These guys came outswinging. We got out to the big lead, and it's easier to pitchwhen you know you've got runs on the board."


With Washington holding a 1-0 lead in the third, Young stroked athree-run shot and Ryan Church added an RBI double before WilyMo Pena's run-scoring base hit capped an impressive five-runuprising off Astros starter Jason Jennings (2-9).


"(Jennings) has trouble making his pitches," Houston manger PhilGarner said. "He looked good on some guys, but then he wouldface those where he couldn't get the ball where he wanted to."

Acquired from the Boston Red Sox on Friday, Pena opened thescoring in the second with his seventh homer of the season andsecond in as many nights. His homered was measured at 390 feet.

"One swing of the bat. (Pena) has that kind of power," Youngsaid. "Now he's getting the opportunity to play. We've gotfour guys playing the outfield and they're shifting around.He's going to have a good chance to get some at-bats and be apart of our future."


Washington added some insurance in the fifth on BrianSchneider's sacrifice fly that plated Young, who laced a leadoffsingle.


It was another disappointing outing for Jennings, who gave upsix runs and seven hits through four frames to fall to 0-2against Washington this season. He was tagged for seven runs infive innings at RFK Stadium on June 18.


"He's really struggling to get some consistency," Garner said."Dmitri has been tough on him, but he makes a decent pitch onthe slider and Dmitri goes down and gets it and hits it out ofthe ballpark. It's the little things that kind of snowball onhim."


In his last five starts, Jennings has an ERA of 11.86, with allof those outings ending in Astros' losses. Houston's startershave allowed more than three earned runs four times in the last14 games, with the righthander starting three of those games.

"It's been a battle all year long arm-wise, even after I cameoff the DL," Jennings said. "I feel like I'm throwing the ballbetter than I have. These last couple starts I feel like I havethrown the ball better than I have the last month or two. Justno results to show for it."