Saturday, June 18, 2011

SPORTS - WIMBLEDON '11: The return of the Williams sisters (AP)

SPORTS - WIMBLEDON '11: The return of the Williams sisters (AP)
Chris Johnson AP – Houston Astros' Chris Johnson breaks his bat as he hits and RBI double during the eighth inning of their …

LOS ANGELES – Wandy Rodriguez pitched six gritty innings in his second straight scoreless outing since coming off the disabled list, Jason Bourgeois drove in a run and threw out a runner at home plate in place of injured right fielder Hunter Pence and the Houston Astros beat the fading Los Angeles Dodgers 7-0 on Saturday night.

Rodriguez (5-3) struck out six and was lifted after 103 pitches. The left-hander is 4-0 with a 1.29 ERA over his last seven starts. Last Monday, he gave up just two hits over six scoreless innings after missing 19 games due to elbow problems.

The Astros, coming off Brett Myers' complete-game, 7-3 win on Friday night, have won consecutive games for the first time since winning four in a row May 30-June 2 after entering this three-game series in a 2-11 skid with the worst record in the majors.

The Dodgers have lost five straight and are 10 games under .500 for the first time since 2005, when the team finished 71-91. Their six-game home losing streak is their longest since a six-game stretch in August 2007.

Rubby De La Rosa (3-1) was charged with five runs, six hits and three walks over 4 2-3 innings and struck out six in his third major league start. The 22-year-old right-hander, inserted into the rotation because of Jon Garland's inflamed right shoulder, won his previous two outings on the road against Philadelphia and Colorado and pitched five innings each time.

Pence was scratched from manager Brad Mills' original lineup because of a hyperextended left elbow. The injury occurred in Friday's game, when he hit a grounder to first base and dived into the bag trying to avoid James Loney's tag.

Pence, who came in with the NL's fourth-highest batting average (.321), is scheduled to fly back to Houston Sunday morning for an MRI and then rejoin the club for a road series against the Texas Rangers. He leads the Astros with nine homers and 51 RBIs, has played in all but two of Houston's first 72 games. Pence had a 23-game hitting streak that ended on Tuesday.

De La Rosa held the Astros to just two hits over the first four innings, striking out the side on 14 pitches in the second. But the Astros broke through for five runs in the fifth to break a scoreless tie after loading the bases with none out.

De La Rosa fanned Carlos Corporan and Rodriguez before walking Michael Bourn to force in a run. Bourgeois, starting in right field for the first time this season, singled off the glove of first baseman Casey Blake to drive in another run and Jeff Keppinger added a two-run single.

De La Rosa then walked Carlos Lee and was replaced by Mike MacDougal, whose wild pitch to Brett Wallace allowed Bourgeois to score the fifth run. Catcher Rod Barajas scrambled after the ball and sprained his right ankle popping back up to his feet. He limped back to the dugout and was replaced by Dioner Navarro.

Houston tacked on two more runs in the eighth against Ramon Troncoso, an RBI double by Chris Johnson and an RBI single by Corporan.

NOTES: Pence does not want to miss the Astros' next series, because Arlington, Texas is where he played his high school and college ball. In 11 big league games there, Pence is 15 for 46 with six RBIs and three home runs — all solo shots. ... Andre Ethier, who homered in the ninth inning of the Dodgers' 7-3 loss Friday night, doubled his first time up against Rodriguez. It's only the second time all season that he had extra-base hits in consecutive at-bats. The other time was April 16 against St. Louis, when he doubled in the sixth and eighth innings. ... Rodriguez fanned Ethier in the fifth for his 900th career strikeout. ... The Dodgers reinstated RHP Kenley Jansen from the 15-day disabled list and optioned RHP Josh Lindblom to Double-A Chattanooga. ... Blake was in the starting lineup for the first time since June 10 and was 1 for 4 with two strikeouts. He had five at-bats between then and Saturday with one hit, a go-ahead three-run double against Colorado's Matt Reynolds. ... De La Rosa made his big league debut against the Astros on May 24 at Houston with a perfect inning of relief in which he struck out Pence and Wallace. ... The six saves by the Dodgers' bullpen since May 11 have been by six different pitchers — none of them Jonathan Broxton, who is scheduled to make a pair of rehab assignments Monday and Wednesday with Triple-A Albuquerque. Broxton has been sidelined since May 4 because of a bruised right elbow.


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