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Lee supports Oswalt as Astros top Marlins

Apr 18, 2007 - 5:53 AM HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Carlos Lee wishes Roy Oswalt could pitch every day.

Lee homered and drove in four runs and Oswalt tossed 6 1/3 strong innings as the Houston Astros posted a 6-1 victory over the Florida Marlins.

Adam Everett had two hits and an RBI for the Astros, who swept a short two-game series.

"I think Carlos and some of our other guys are starting to feel better at the plate," Houston manager Phil Garner said. "In the beginning, Carlos, I think, was trying to do too much. Maybe he was over-swinging a bit."

Oswalt walked a career-high six and yielded six runs and six hits in seven innings last Friday at Philadelphia. However, he was bailed out by Lee's three-homer performance and did not get a decision in the Astros' 9-6 win.

On Tuesday, it was more of the same for Lee, who blasted his fifth homer - and his fourth in support of Oswalt. The slugging outfielder smacked a two-run shot off Marlins reliever Jorge Julio in the fourth inning to give Houston its first lead.

"He'd better take me to dinner," Lee joked. "I call it nothing but a coincidence, and it doesn't really happen very often."

One inning later, Craig Biggio was hit by a pitch and Morgan Ensberg singled, setting up Lee's two-run double to make it 4-1.

"Everybody takes some time to get comfortable," Lee said. "Right now, it seems that we are getting some things together, myself included."

Pitching on three days' rest, Oswalt (3-0) looked fresh, yielding just one run and six hits. He struck out seven and walked three. Four Houston relievers worked the final 2 2/3 frames to secure the victory.

"Everything was better after that first pitch (leadoff homer to Hanley Ramirez); it was a fastball away and he hit it pretty good," Oswalt said. "I don't think I had a number in my mind about how many pitches I wanted to throw, but I know I wanted to work quickly. I just wanted to make those runs stand up."

Marlins starter Sergio Mitre left the game with a torn callous on his right middle finger. He left in the first inning after throwing just 12 pitches. Julio (0-2) allowed six runs - five earned - in one inning to pick up the loss.

"I couldn't tell you how it happened," Mitre said. "It just started stinging sometime in the first couple of pitches I guess. Sometime during Biggio's at-bat, I started feeling it. I didn't realize it was that big."

Mitre was scheduled to pitch against the Washington Nationals on Saturday at home but is listed as day-to-day.

"It's a blister. He ripped the skin off a blister," Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "We didn't want to make it worse. We've got five days (until the next start). The trainer says let's wait and see how it goes."