AL, NL Wild Card Races Tied with One Game Left

Players of the Day for Tuesday, September 27, 2011

American League

Undeniably, the wild card has been good for baseball, but for the Red Sox this season, it's been less fun than most pennant races.

Boston, which led the AL wild card standings by as many as nine games at the start of September, remained in a tie with Tampa Bay after both teams won Tuesday night. The Red Sox barely hung on in the late innings to shave Baltimore, 8-7, while the Rays made a triple play that turned their team around and may have saved the season.

Lavarnway: 4 RBI

Third string catcher, Ryan Lavarnway, who spent most of his season in AAA at Pawtucket, delivered a pair of home runs for the desperate Red Sox, the first a three-run shot in the 4th inning that put the Sox up 5-1, and a solo jack in the 8th that turned out to provided the margin of victory. The Orioles dinged the beleaguered Boston relief corps for two runs in the 8th and another in the bottom of the ninth, leaving the tying run on second base as Jonathan Papelbon retired Adam Jones on a ground out to third to end the game.

Boston got all of its runs via the long ball as Jacoby Ellsbury and Marco Scutaro also homered. The Red Sox staved off defeat on the strength of 3 1/3 solid innings of relief work by Alfredo Aceves, who's been their most reliable reliever. Aceves came on in the 4th in relief of Eric Bedard, who had thrown 84 pitches and given up three runs to the O's. Aceves limited the Orioles to just one run on three hits, the run coming on Jones' 6th inning homer.

With the regular season ending Wednesday, Boston sends Jon Lester (15-9) to the mound on three days rest, knowing that Aceves will be unavailable should he falter. Baltimore will start Alfredo Simon, a hard-throwing right hander who's gone 4-9 in fifteen starts this season. Simon spent part of last season as the Orioles' closer, picking up 17 saves in 21 chances.

In Tampa, the Rays survived a bases-loaded threat in the 6th inning that might have ended their post-season hopes if not for the quick hands of Tampa's infielders. Russell Martin smashed a hot grounder at third baseman Evan Longoria, who touched third and whipped a throw to Ben Zobrist for the force at second. Zobrist gunned the ball to Sean Rodriguez at first, nipping the diving Martin for a triple play. The Yankees had already taken a 3-2 lead in the inning on Nick Swisher's RBI double and loaded the bases when starter Jeremy Hellickson intentionally walked Jorge Posada.

Joyce: 3-run HR

The triple play ignited the crown and the Rays. In the bottom of the 7th, Matt Joyce turned on a Rafael Soriano fastball and deposited it in the right field stands for a three-run homer that completed the scoring in Tampa's 5-3 win, keeping the wild card knotted with one game left to play.

The Rays host the Yankees on Wednesday night, sending David Price to the mound, who will also be working on three day's rest. The Yankees have not named a starter, though manager Joe Girardi has said that he will not use any pitchers on the post-season roster, as the Yankees have already clinched the division with the best record in the league and will face either Detroit or Texas in the opening round.

Should Boston and Tampa Bay remain tied at the end of Wednesday's activities, the Rays would host a one-game playoff Thursday afternoon at Tropicana Field.

National League

Oswalt: 6 scoreless

St Louis has been gunning for the Atlanta Braves the entire month of September, and on Tuesday, they finally caught them. Cardinal bats caught fire in the late innings and routed the Houston Astros, 13-6, after the Phillies dusted off the Braves, 7-1. Roy Oswalt pitched six innings of shutout ball for the Phillies, allowing just three hits and a walk, striking out four.

In Houston, the Cardinals battled back from a five run deficit, scoring five times in the 4th inning, then putting the game away with four runs in the 7th, three in the 8th and one more in the top of the 9th. Nick Punto went 4-for-5 with a solo homer and two RBI and rookie Allen Craig blasted a three-run bomb in the eighth inning to seal the win. Craig was 2-for-3, scored three times and drove in four runs.

Craig: 3-run HR

The Braves have struggled all through the month of September. Atlanta has gone 8-17 in the season's final month, while the Cardinals are 17-8 over the same span.

Punto: 4-for-5

For the final regular season game, the Cardinals will start their ace, Chris Carpenter (10-9) against the Astros' Brett Myers (7-13), Myers has won his last four starts and is 6-5 lifetime against St. Louis with a 4.54 ERA. Career-wise, Carpenter is 7-5, with a 2.79 ERA, but he's 0-3 with a 4.62 ERA in his last five starts at Minute Maid Field and hasn't won there since 2005.

Atlanta will throw Tim Hudson (16-10) in their season finale at home against the Phillies. Hudson has a 7-8 mark lifetime against Philadelphia with a 3.75 ERA. Joe Blanton goes up the bump for the Phillies. Blanton is 1-4 with a 5.47 ERA against the Braves lifetime and is 1-2 in ten starts this season.

The Braves' game begins at 7:10 pm EDT, while the Cardinals and Astros get underway at 8:05. If the Braves and Cardinals are tied after Wednesday, St. Louis would host a one-game playoff Thursday night.

Phillies Clinch 5th Straight NL East Pennant; Rivera Ties Hoffman; Hamilton Slugs for Rangers

Players of the Day for Saturday, September 17, 2011

American League

Josh Hamilton went 4-for-5 with a home run, two singles and a double and drove in three runs, helping the Texas Rangers pad their lead in the AL West to 4 1/2 games over the Angels with a 7-6 win at Seattle.

Josh Hamilton

As hot as any team in the majors, the Rangers are 10-5 for the month of September and continue t keep the hungry Angels at bay in pursuit of their second straight division crown. Once they finish up in Seattle on Sunday, the Rangers face the A's in Oakland for three games, then return to Arlington for three more with the Mariners before finishing out the regular season with three games at Anahiem with the Angels.

Rivera: 601 Saves

In Toronto, the Yankees came back from a 6-1 deficit to defeat the Blue Jays, 7-6, allowing Mariano Rivera to record save #601, tying him with Trevor Hoffman as the career leader in that department. Rivera was the fifth in a parade of relievers working one inning apiece after starter Bartolo Colon lasted just four innings, allowing all six Toronto runs. Rivera didn't allow a baserunner and chalked up a strikeout for his 42nd save of the season, second best in the AL.

The Rays and Red Sox continued to contest the wild card in Boston, with the Rays coming out on top of a 4-3 score Tampa has taken two of three in Boston and play the series finale Sunday afternoon, but the battle doesn't end there. After a day off Monday, the Rays head to New York for a three game set with the Yankees, then return home for three with the Blue Jays and three more with New York to close out the season. The Red Sox have a series in New York sandwiched between a pair of home and away three game series with the Orioles, a less-daunting task.

National League

Shane Victorino

Oswalt: 7 Scoreless

The Phillies cooled off the red-hot Cardinals - winners of seven of their last eight - with a 9-2 win, clinching their fifth straight NL East title.

Shane Victorino walked with the bases loaded in the 4th inning, socked a solo homer in the 6th and singled in another run in the 8th to lead the effort. Raul Ibanez capped off the scoring with a grand slam later in the 8th inning to seal the victory. Roy Oswalt worked seven scoreless innings from the mound, allowing just five hits while fanning seven.

Ibanez: Slam Man

The win was the 98th for Philadelphia, easily the best in the majors and dropped the Cardinals 6 1/2 games behind the Brewers in the Central division. Milwaukee bombed Cincinnati, 10-1, as they cruise toward the division crown. Atlanta topped the Mets, 1-0, putting them 4 1/2 in front of St. Louis in the wild card race.

Out West, the Giants won their seventh straight, topping Colorado, 6-5, while the Diamondbacks dropped their third in a row, losing to San Diego, 3-1. Those results sliced Arizona's lead in the division to five games with 10 left to play. Arizona has one more game in San Diego before returning home for the remainder of the season. They host Pittsburgh for three games, then the Giants for a three game weekend series before closing out the season with three against the Dodgers.

Oswalt, Rollins Lead Phillies over Giants, Tie NLCS at 1-1

Players of the Day for Sunday, October 17, 2010

National League

Roy Oswalt (left) allowed three hits and one earned run over 8 strong innings and Jimmy Rollins (right) drove in four runs as the Phillies evened the NLCS with the Giants at a game apiece with a 6-1 victory.

The Phillies got on the board in the first inning as Giant starter Jonathan Sanchez allowed the bases to be loaded before issuing a walk to Rollins. Sanchez was able to escape with just the one run, but Oswalt was hammer-tough on the mound, not allowing a hit until Cody Ross' solo homer in the 5th.

That turned out to be the only run the Giants could push across. In fact, Oswalt only allowed one runner past first, that being Pablo Sandoval, with two out in the 8th, but Oswalt finished his stint by getting Aubrey Huff on a line out to center. In addition to the three hits, Oswalt walked three but struck out nine Giants, including leadoff hitter, Andres Torres, four times.

Rollins, who went 2-for-3, completed the scoring with a bases-loaded double in the 7th, which put the game pretty much out of reach. His other hit was a 4th-inning pop-up which landed between the pitcher's mound and home plate as none of the Giant infielders made a commitment to catch it.

The series takes a day off Monday, resuming Tuesday in San Francisco, at 4:19 pm ET. Matt Cain goes up the bump for the Giants against Cole Hamels.

American League

The best-of-seven ALCS resumes Monday night in New York with the series tied 1-1. Texas sends Cliff Lee to the mound against Andy Pettitte, who will be looking to extend his post-season record for wins to 20. Lee, however, has never lost a post-season start, with six wins to his credit. Game time is 8:07 pm ET.

Oswalt Blanks Braves, Phillies Win 10th Straight; Ortiz Bangs for Boston

Players of the Day for Wednesday, September 22, 2010 American League The Red Sox are probably going to have to live with the fact that they'll have the best record of any team in the AL that didn't make the playoffs. With the Yankees and Rays conspiring against them by beating each other, Boston has been unable to gain ground. Despite beating the Orioles, 6-1, they remain eight games behind the first-place Yankees and 6 1/2 back of Tampa Bay, the current wild card leader. Instrumental in Boston's relative success (they've managed to remain somewhat relevant despite numerous injuries) has been David Ortiz and the potent bat which he carries routinely to the plate. In Boston's Wednesday victory at Fenway Park, Ortiz launched his 31st home run of the season in the 4th inning, driving in three runs and putting Boston - and starter John Lackey - ahead by a 3-1 score. Ortiz also singled home another run for the Red Sox in their 2-run 6th, finishing the night with four RBI, giving him 96 on the year. Ortiz, who got off to his usual slow start, didn't his his first home run until April 23rd and finished the initial month of the season batting .143, with just four RBI. Finally reaching the .200 mark on May 12, Ortiz has played well since, getting his average up to a respectable .261. Boston faces New York six times over the span of the last ten days of the season. Even if Boston were to win all six games, they would still trail the Yankees by two games at season's end. National League It's a safe bet that the Phillies will win the NL East for the 4th straight season, now that they've extinguished the flame that had been burning in Atlanta most of the year. The Phillies won their 10th straight game, completing a three-game sweep of the Braves with a 1-0 win and now lead the division by six games. With just nine games remaining on Philly's regular season slate, their magic number is a solid four. In their Wednesday win, Roy Oswalt dominated from the mound, allowing one hit over seven full innings. Oswalt took perfection into the 4th inning, when Martin Prado doubled with two outs. Unfazed, Oswalt retired the next batter to close out the inning and allowed no more hits and just one walk through seven, fanning eight. Despite pitching brilliantly, Oswalt received no decision, pulled for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 7th, Ryan Madson took his place on the mound and eventually got the win when Raul Ibanez doubled home Jayson Werth with the only run of the game in the bottom of the 8th. Brad Lidge came on for the 9th, and, like Madsen, didn't allow a hit, for his 26th save. Lidge earned saves in each of the three straight wins over Atlanta and appears ready for the playoffs, with eight saves in the month of September. PENNANT NOTES: The Rays got one back in the Bronx, whipping the first place Yankees, 7-2, to pull back to 1 1/2 games back. The Yanks and Rays complete their four-game series Thursday night. In the AL West, Texas downed the Angels, 2-1, in 12 innings, and the A's lost to the White Sox, 4-3, so the magic number for Texas drops to four. They lead the A's by eight games. San Diego took back the lead in the NL West, beating the Dodgers, 3-1, while the Cubs knocked off the Giants, 2-0, giving the Padres a 1/2 game lead. Colorado lost its third straight and have fallen three back. The Reds and Cardinals were both pounded, Cincinnati losing, 13-1, to Milwaukee, and St. Louis finishing on the wrong end of an 11-6 score with Pittsburgh. The Reds still lead by eight games and probably don't have to win any more, as their magic number is down to just three, and the Cardinals have all but thrown in the towel.

Konerko, Sox Club Royals; Oswalt Fires Phils into First

Players of the Day for Sunday, September 12, 2010 American League Paul Konerko rocked two homers and drove in five runs, leading the Chicago White Sox past the KC Royals, 12-6. The Royals leapt to a 6-0 lead in the opening inning on a pair three-run homers by Billy Butler and Brayan Pena, but Konerko had already begun gnawing away at the lead in the bottom of the frame with the first of his two, a two-run smash to center. Homering again in the 3rd with Alex Rios aboard, Konerko drove this one to left and the Sox scored two more to tie the game after four. In the 6th inning, Konerko broke the knot with a run-scoring single and scored on Andruw Jones' pinch hit grand slam. Chicago tallied six times in the inning to break the game wide open. Still in hopeful pursuit of the Twins, the White Sox didn't gain any ground on the division leaders, still trailing by six games. A day off Monday leads to a three-game showdown with the Twins beginning Tuesday in Chicago. National League When the Phillies acquired Roy Oswalt from Houston prior to the trading deadline, they knew they were getting a quality pitcher who might help them win their fourth straight NL East flag. After his first two starts, an 8-1 loss to Washington and a 5-4 win over Florida (August 1) in which he didn't receive a decision, Oswalt has been magnificent, winning six of his last seven starts as the Phillies overtook the Braves and snatched away first place in the division. With an assist to the Cardinals, who bombed the Braves, 7-3, Sunday night, Oswalt twirled a 4-hit, complete-game shutout in New York, for a 3-0 win over the Mets and a one-game lead in the NL East. The effort was the culmination of a steady streak for Oswalt, who's allowed eight earned runs over his past 51 1/3 innings, a 1.40 ERA. The Phillies have won all of his last seven starts. The Phillies scored single runs in each of the 1st, 3rd and 7th innings, and Oswalt, who allowed two hits in the opening inning, kept the Mets off the bases and off the scoreboard for the duration, walking one and fanning six. After going 6-12 with the Astros, the 6-1 record he's put up since joining the Phillies has Oswalt close to .500, at 12-13. PENNANT NOTES: The Yankees lost their third straight, 4-1, being swept in Texas by the Rangers, but Tampa Bay also lost, 5-4, to the Blue Jays, so the Rays remain 1/2 game behind. With their 5th straight win and an Oakland loss, the Rangers have reduced their magic number to 12 in the West. In the National League, the Reds lost a game they could have won, allowing three runs in the 9th to the Pirates for a 3-1 loss. The still lead the Cardinals by six games in the Central. Tim Lincecum stopped the Padres in their tracks, 6-1, as the Giants moved back into a tie with San Diego atop the West. Colorado won their 10th in a row, a 4-2 win over Arizona, and are just 1 1/2 back of the deadlock.

Danks Blanks Angels on 2-Hitter; Oswalt in Form with 1-Hit Win over Pirates

Players of the Day for Thursday, July 8, 2010 American League The Tigers had the day off, so the Chicago White Sox knew they could not vault into first place in the AL Central, but they did the next best thing by sweeping the LA Angels four straight with a 1-0 win on the strength of John Danks' 2-hitter. Winning four in a row over the defending AL West champs was tribute to just how well the Sox are playing these days, and getting a complete game, two-hit shutout from Danks was simply icing on the cake. Danks (8-7) threw 81 of 111 pitches for strikes, meaning he was off the plate on 30 times as he sliced through the LA lineup without allowing a walk, fanning seven. Danks took a no-hitter to the seventh inning, the only frame in which he gave up a hit - actually two - as Reggie Willits and Howie Kendrick opened the inning with back-to-back singles. Undaunted, Danks got the following three outs in order and was perfect through the 8th and 9th, all the time protecting a one-run lead provided by Paul Konerko's first inning sac fly which plated Juan Pierre. The White sox have been the best team in baseball since mid-June. since June 15, they've gone 18-4, including a major-league best (tied with Texas) 11-game win streak last month. They currently are riding five straight wins and have closed to within 1/2 game of Detroit. The Twins, former holders of the division's top slot, have faded to third place, though only two games back. They lost their second straight to Toronto, on the wrong end of an 8-1 score, Thursday. National League At 35-51, and 13 1/2 games out in the NL Central, the Houston Astros seem to be going nowhere fast this season and that means they might just lose a few good men to trades before the month of July is out. One such man is starter Roy Oswalt, who has spent all of his 10-year career in a Houston uniform. Just to prove he's ready to go anywhere and perform, Oswalt fired off a one-hitter against the Pirates, his first complete game of the season and first shutout since 2008. Not that Roy hasn't been pitching well, despite his 6-10 record, he's toting around a 3.08 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP, the kind of numbers that get starters into the Hall of Fame. Oswalt had his no-hit bid spoiled in the first inning, when Neil Walker singled to right with two outs. After that, Oswalt just set down 25 of the next 28 batters, giving up just two walks and plunking one, striking out 8 en route to his best performance of the season. Providing support was Lance Berkman, another player who could be traded shortly, who belted a pair of solo homers for the 2-0 winning margin. Oswalt needs 4 more wins without a loss to get his record back to .500. A trade to a contender would virtually guarantee that he'd avoid the first losing season of his career. The Angles, Rangers, Tigers, Red Sox, Reds, Dodgers and Braves all could use his services down the stretch. Oswalt is 143-80 with 19 complete games and 7 shutouts over the course of his career. He's a two-time 20-game winner and maybe the best 10-year starter who's never won a Cy Young award. Stay tuned.

Adrian Beltre Blasts for Boston Sweep; Roy Oswalt Shuts Down Brewers

Players of the Day for Wednesday, May 26, 2010 American League When the Red Sox reached out and grabbed Adrian Beltre from Seattle in the off-season, nobody doubted that the acquisition would pay big benefits for Boston. Fitting right in from the start, Beltre's provided solid defense and an important bat so far this season. The slugging veteran had his best game as a Boston regular in Wednesday's 11-3 win over Tampa Bay, cracking a pair of homers a triple and a single in 6 at-bats as the Red Sox completed their three-game, on-the-road sweep of the first place Rays. Beltre got things started with a solo homer in the 2nd inning, added a 3-run blast in the 3rd, singled in the 7th and capped off his night with a triple in the 9th, plating two more Red Sox runs. The homers were only his 4th and 5th of the season, but the 6 RBI put him at 33 for the year, tops on the team. Beltre also leads the Sox with a .341 batting average, third in the league. Boston moved past Toronto into third place, 5 1/2 games behind the Rays and just 2 back of the Yankees. National League Roy Oswalt hasn't gotten much run support in his 10 starts this season, but made sure he didn't need much as he blanked the Brewers over 8 innings, allowing just 4 hits and 1 walk while fanning 9, as the Astros won, 4-0. Oswalt struck out every regular in the Milwaukee lineup one time and added a K on reliever Claudio Vargas for good measure. He threw 74 of 109 pitches for strikes in upping his record to 3-6. Oswalt's poor record is undeserved considering the way he's pitched. In 69 innings, he's allowed just 53 hits, has an ERA of 2.35, 69 Ks and a 1.01 WHIP, among the best in the league. With a little support at the plate, Oswalt could easily be 6-3.

Wakefield Knuckles D-Rays; Dodger Blues

American League Tampa Bay 0 Boston 3 - There are any number of good reasons why Boston keeps Tim Wakefield (right) around. Monday's 3-0 win over Tampa Bay was just another reminder of how valuable the knuckleballer has been to the franchise over the years. Wakefield improved to 18-2 lifetime against Tampa Bay, one of Boston's divisional foes, a team they simply have to beat consistently. Wakefield (14-10) worked a no-hitter into the 7th inning, ending up with a 2-hit performance over 8 innings. Sometimes, when the knuckler is working, it's almost impossible to hit. Besides having Tampa's number, Wakefield contributes to the Boston staff in a variety of ways. He's consistent. Beginning in 2002, Wakefield's started 158 games and compiled a record of 71-55. He's had a winning record in 5 of his last six seasons, the only blemish coming last year when he was beset with injuries and finished 7-11. He could be on his way to his winningest season. He's got 8 more starts to surpass the 17 wins he put up in 1998. Baltimore 6 NY Yankees 7 - The Yankees kept pace with Boston as Melky Cabrera scored on Derek Jeter's tapper back to pitcher Chad Bradford in the bottom of the 9th. The Yanks have won 4 straight and 9 of their last 10. Minnesota 3 Seattle 4 - Richie Sexson homered to lead off the bottom of the 9th, spoiling another solid performance by Minnesota ace Johan Santana, who allowed 3 runs over 7 innings but received no decision. Besides wins, Santana (12-9) has 4 no decisions and 5 losses in games in which he's pitched at least 6 innings and allowed 3 runs or less. Sexson's walk-off blast was his 19th of the season. With their third straight win, the Mariners picked up 1/2 game on idle Los Angeles and are just 3 back, and remain tied with the Yankees for the wild card lead. Minnesota has lost 5 straight. Other AL Scores Oakland 7 Detroit 2 - Tigers fall into 1st place tie with Cleveland Toronto 2 Kansas City 6 National League Houston 4 LA Dodgers 1 - Roy Oswalt (right) did his part to contribute to the demise of the Dodgers with 8 innings of mound mastery Monday night. The Houston stopper gave up 1 earned run on 6 hits to improve to 13-6, and sink Los Angeles further behind in the NL West. The Dodgers have lost 3 straight, 8 of their last 10 and trail Arizona by 6 1/2 games. Other NL Scores San Francisco 1 Pittsburgh 3 San Francisco 10 Pittsburgh 3

A-Rod Slams O's; Oswalt Goes Distance for 1st Astros Win

Saturday's Peak Performers and Fabulous Flops American League Alex Rodriguez (right) homered twice, the second a grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, to propel the NY Yankees to a 10-7 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Yankees Stadium. A-Rod's stat line for the game is the most impressive thus far this season. 4 at-bats, 3 hits, 4 runs, 6 RBI. In the same game, O's third baseman Melvin Mora put up some pretty good numbers of his own with a double and home run in 5 at-bats, 5 RBI and a run scored. Curtis Granderson's 5th inning solo home run proved to be the game-winner as Detroit outlasted Kansas City, 6-5. Granderson went 2-3, drove in a pair of runs and scored twice for the Tigers, who earned their first road win. Javier Vasquez threw 6 2/3 innings of 1-hit shutout ball, sending the visiting Twins to their first loss, 3-0. Vasquez struck out 5 (including the side, in order in the 5th inning) and walked 4. Frank Thomas hit his first home run in a Toronto uniform, a 2nd inning grand slam off Tampa Bay's Toma Okha, who gave up 6 hits, 3 walks and 5 earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. The Blue Jays won the game 8-5 in Tampa. Sammy Sosa hit his first homer of the season and first as a Texas Ranger as the Rangers beat the visiting Red Sox for the second straight day, 8-4. Sosa's 2-run blast came off Boston's J.C. Romero, who had a rough outing, allowing 5 hits, 3 earned runs while not recording an out. Sosa was 2-5, with 2 RBI and scored twice. John Lackey looked to be in midseason form, helping the LA Angels to their 5th win in six games with a 7 inning quality start and his second win of the season. Lackey outdueled Danny Haren (0-2), allowing just 1 run on 7 hits, no walks and 6 Ks. Haren pitched well enough to win, but the A's literally threw the game away in the 6th inning, when shortstop Marco Scutaro threw wildly to first, allowing Garrett Anderson to score the winning run from 2nd base. National League Adam Dunn (right) had an interesting day helping the Reds take over sole possession of first place in the NL Central (4-1) with a 7-5 win over visiting Pittsburgh. Dunn belted his his third homer of the season in the first inning - a two run shot - and after that the Pirate pitchers walked him three times, so Dunn responded by stealing second twice and scoring a couple more times. Noted more for his power stroke than his speed, Dunn has now stolen 9 consecutive bases without being thrown out. He stole 7 in 7 tries in 2006. After a rough outing in his first start, Derek Lowe held the Giants to 1 run on 4 hits over 7 innings in the Dodgers' 4-1 win at San Francisco. Lowe walked 2 and struck out 1 - opposing pitcher Russ Ortiz - evening his record at 1-1. Florida's Josh Willingham nearly hit for the cycle in the Marlins 8-4 win over the visiting Phillies, but he couldn't get the easiest part - a single. Willingham homered in the 2nd, tripled in the 3rd and doubled in the 5th inning, drove in 4 runs and scored one. He struck out swinging in the 7th, his final at-bat. Dontrelle Willis struck out 9 en route to his 2nd win. Houston finally got their first win of 2007, thanks to the complete game thrown by ace Roy Oswalt, who allowed just 1 earned run on 5 hits a walk and 4 Ks. The Astros beat St. Louis 5-1, dropping the visiting Cardinals into a tie for last place with themselves. Both the Astros and Cardinals are 1-4.