• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Astros blank Dodgers

Apr 22, 2012 - 11:42 PM Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Jordan Schafer hit a grand slam to help the Houston Astros dominate the Los Angeles Dodgers, 12-0, on Sunday.

Carlos Lee opened the scoring with a two-run blast and seven Astros recorded at least one RBI in the victory, which snapped a two-game losing streak to salvage the final contest in a three-game set.

Wandy Rodriguez (1-2) picked up his first win of the season by tossing seven scoreless frames, allowing just three hits and three walks with six strikeouts.

Chad Billingsley (2-1) was tagged for nine runs -- five earned -- on four hits and four walks in 3 1/3 innings to take the loss. Mark Ellis and Jerry Hairston each had two of the Dodgers' six hits.

"It's tough to pitch when you're not getting ahead of hitters and you're not throwing strikes," Billingsley mused.

Lee launched an 0-1 fastball into the left-field seats with Jed Lowrie aboard in the home first for an early 2-0 Houston edge.

Billingsley walked Jose Castro and Rodriguez after Chris Johnson led off the second with a single to bring Schafer to the plate with the bases loaded. Schafer drove an 0-1 cutter deep to right-center. Right fielder Andre Ethier had time to plant himself at the warning track and almost made a jumping catch, but the ball tipped off the top of his glove and just cleared the fence for Schafer's first career grand slam.

A pair of groundouts around a wild pitch in the fourth pushed the Astros' lead to 9-0.

"I think [Billingsley] left some balls up and they helped us out a little bit in the field," Schafer said. "I know for awhile there we didn't have a bunch of hits, we had like four hits and nine runs there for awhile."

Jason Castro hit an RBI single in the fifth, and Chris Johnson and Jose Altuve each singled in a runner in the eighth for the game's final margin.

Game Notes

The Astros snapped a six-game losing streak against the Dodgers in which they scored a total of three runs...Dodgers' reliever Jamie Wright batted in the fifth, his first at-bat since June 16, 2007 with the Rangers...Castro's hit off Wright was the first he gave up this year (batters were 0-for-18) in 6 1/3 innings...Matt Kemp was 12-for-17 against lefties coming into the game. He was 0-for-3 today and saw his hitting streak ended at 10 games...Houston's last grand slam came on Aug 16, 2011, hit by Brian Bogesevic against the Cubs...Schafer has reached base safely in all 16 games this season, the longest streak for a Houston player since Craig Biggio's 17-game streak in 2000.