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Houston Astros
starter
Brandon Backe
has lost some velocity on his fastball, but he's finding other ways to get batters out.
The right-hander looks to build off a pair of impressive outings when the Astros (57-59) wrap up their three-game series with
the
San Diego Padres
(59-57) at Minute Maid Park on Sunday.
Backe (3-1, 3.69 ERA) allowed one run and three hits in seven innings of Tuesday's 3-1 victory over Pittsburgh. Backe, who
was making his fourth start since returning from more than three months on the disabled list with a right elbow sprain, has
given up two runs over 14 2-3 innings in winning his last two outings.
''I thought he threw a little better today than he did in his last outing, because he threw his curveball over a little better
today,'' Houston manager
Phil Garner
said. ''He used all his pitches, located very well, stayed down and up when he wanted to. A very good job.''
Backe said that he has had to rely more on location than power since the injury.
''I know what I've got. I can't get any more than what I've been showing,'' said Backe, who is 12-3 with a 3.17 ERA in 31
career appearances, including 17 starts, at Minute Maid Park. ''There's not going to be any 93 mph fastball I'm going to be
able to throw by people. I've just got to use my ability to locate it as well as possible. There's no overpowering anybody
anymore.''
Backe has won both of his career starts against the Padres, posting a 1.35 ERA in those outings. He allowed one run in 7 2-3
innings of a 7-1 victory at San Diego on Aug. 2.
Woody Williams
(4-4, 3.89), who will start the finale for the Padres, took the loss in that game, giving up five runs and two homers in 6
2-3 innings.
Williams allowed three runs and eight hits in six innings of Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the
New York Mets
. He has not won since July 7, going 0-3 with a 5.28 ERA in five starts.
''I felt good,'' Williams said Tuesday. ''The 3-4-5 guys battled all night. I made a couple of pitches I didn't want to make,
but those guys are good.''
Williams has made 20 career starts against the Astros, going 10-6 with a 4.08 ERA.
The Padres beat the Astros 6-3 on Saturday to end a four-game losing streak.
Todd Walker
,
Josh Barfield
and
Mike Cameron
homered in the fourth inning, giving San Diego three homers in the same inning for the first time since a 7-5 win over Kansas
City on July 2, 2004.
The Padres are 1 1/2 games behind the first-place
Los Angeles Dodgers
in the NL West.
The Astros fell 2 1/2 games behind Cincinnati in the NL wild-card race, but remained five games behind first-place St. Louis
in the NL Central after having their four-game win streak snapped.
Lance Berkman
homered for the second straight night Saturday and
Luke Scott
had an RBI single for the Astros.
Willy Taveras
went 1-for-5, extending his career-best hitting streak to 15 games.
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