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Lee homers three times as Oswalt notches win No. 100

Apr 14, 2007 - 7:10 AM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Carlos Lee came up with a first, helping Roy Oswalt reach a much higher number.

Lee belted three homers for the first time in his career and Oswalt recorded his 100th victory as the Houston Astros posted a 9-6 triumph over the struggling Philadelphia Phillies.

Lee finished with six RBI and Morgan Ensberg added a three-run blast for Houston, which has won three straight.

"There were some pretty remarkable feats on a night like tonight," Houston manager Phil Garner said. "There were a lot of things going on but we played a nice ballgame. Obviously Carlos Lee with about 1,200 feet of homers on a night where I did not think anyone was going to hit any homers. That was pretty impressive."

With the Astros trailing, 3-0, after one inning, Lee led off the second against Brett Myers (0-2) with his second homer of the season. A frame later, Lee launched a 3-1 offering from the Phillies' starter over the left-center field wall for a grand slam, giving Houston a 5-3 lead.

"It was a great game, we got big plays," Lee said. "It was great just to put the team ahead. It ain't always going to be like that. It was kind of crazy to see Oswalt struggle."

Ensberg reached Jon Lieber for his shot in the fourth, and Lee capped his power display with a solo blast off Ryan Madson with two outs in the ninth.

Oswalt (2-0) reached his milestone despite laboring through five innings. The righthander, who tossed a five-hitter against St. Louis on Saturday, surrendered six runs, seven hits and six walks but struck out six.

"Probably the worst game I have thrown in the big leagues," Oswalt said. "That is the funny thing about it. I did not really have nothing going on too much. Had a pretty good fastball here and there, but never got it going, never got it in sync."

Four relievers bridged the gap to new closer Dan Wheeler, who struck out the side in the ninth for his second save.

"Our bullpen did a nice job," Garner said. "They picked each other up."

Myers, who struck out four, was tagged for seven runs, three hits and five walks in 3 1/3 innings. His ERA rose to 9.39 as Philadelphia lost for the eighth time in 10 games.

"I got no excuses," Myers said. "I flatout stunk today. It's frustrating, but I just kind of feel like I'm not myself right now.

"I feel like I lost that Rottweiler aggression that I have when I go out there. It just doesn't feel the same right now and that's something I'm gonna have to work on mentally to get back out there and be able to do it."

Reigning National League MVP Ryan Howard was one of three players with two hits and an RBI for the Phillies, who fell to 0-4 at home.

The Phillies threatened in the bottom of the eighth, but right fielder Luke Scott gunned down Shane Victorino at the plate on a single by Howard with first and second and no outs. Reliever Chad Qualls then got Wes Helms to ground into an inning-ending double play to squelch the threat.

"Their right fielder (Luke Scott) made a hell of a throw," Manuel said. "That ball was hit pretty hard. Victorino runs good, but (Scott) topped it off with a good play."