Oswalt Gives Astros Relief

Roy Oswalt wanted to help his team more than he had in his last outing.

So, the right-hander volunteered to pitch in relief and ended up getting the win in the Houston Astros’ 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night at Houston.

Lance Berkman and Mike Lamb hit RBI singles to break a 2-2 tie in the eighth after Oswalt (14-9) made his rare relief appearance. Oswalt had not relieved since July 2, 2002.

He had made 64 consecutive starts since, but went only 2 2/3 innings Sunday against Chicago before being ejected for hitting Michael Barrett with a pitch.

“I only threw 50 pitches Sunday,” said Oswalt, who pitched a perfect eighth, striking out two. “So when I came in today, I told [pitching coach] Jim Hickey that if he needed me, I’d be glad to pitch out of the bullpen today.”

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Florida 9, San Francisco 1 -- Alex Gonzalez hit a three-run homer to cap a seven-run first inning, and Mike Lowell drove in five runs at Miami.

A.J. Burnett (4-6) gave up only two hits -- both singles by Edgardo Alfonzo -- and one run in seven innings. Throwing at up to 100 mph, he walked four and hit a batter, and the Giants’ only run scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch.

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San Diego 3, New York 1 -- David Wells continued his road dominance, taking a shutout into the ninth inning at New York.

It was the fifth straight road victory for Wells, whose only loss away from home came on April 19 at San Francisco.

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Chicago 13, Milwaukee 4 -- Moises Alou homered twice and had a career-high six RBIs and Derrek Lee hit a grand slam at Chicago to send the Brewers to their seventh straight loss.

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Atlanta 6, Colorado 5 -- Rafael Furcal went four for four, including a two-run triple in Atlanta’s four-run sixth inning, and Eli Marrero drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single in the seventh at Atlanta. Marrero and Julio Franco each went three for four for the Braves, who used 14 hits to rally past the Rockies after falling behind by four runs.

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Cincinnati 4, St. Louis 3 -- Pitching while appealing a 10-day suspension, Julian Tavarez allowed the game-winning run to score in the 10th inning on Darren Bragg’s single at Cincinnati.

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Pittsburgh 3, Arizona 1 -- Oliver Perez pitched eight sharp innings, Daryle Ward homered, and the Pirates ended a five-game losing streak with the win at Pittsburgh.

Pirate left fielder Jason Bay reached over the wall to take away a two-run homer from Alex Cintron in the first, and Perez faced few problems after that.