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Jennings looks to rebound after poor effort for Astros

Aug 4, 2007 - 2:27 PM Houston (48-61) at Florida (50-60) 7:05 pm EDT

MIAMI (Ticker) -- Jason Jennings will look to overcome the worst performance of his career.

Jennings and the Houston Astros seek a third straight win when they face the struggling Florida Marlins on Saturday.

A late rally by Houston helped the club post an 8-2 victory in the opener of the three-game series on Friday. Roy Oswalt pitched six superb innings and Eric Bruntlett hit a go-ahead, two-run double in the seventh inning for the Astros, who have won two in a row following a three-game losing streak.

Jennings (2-7, 6.03 ERA) was responsible for the first loss of that previous skid, getting blasted for a career-high 11 runs and eight hits while recording just two outs in an 18-11 debacle against the San Diego Padres on Sunday.

"I'm embarrassed," Jennings said afterwards. "I'm embarrassed for my teammates and for the fans. It's one of those that you just flush down the toilet and try to move on. But it's definitely something I'll never forget."

The righthander also pitched one inning of relief in a 12-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, allowing a run and two hits.

Jennings is just 1-6 in his last seven starts.

With the loss to Houston on Friday, Florida was on the losing end for the ninth time in 11 games, and is 0-7 in that stretch when being held to three runs or fewer. The club also dropped to 10 games under .500 for the first time this season.

The Marlins will send Sergio Mitre (5-5, 3.55) to the mound hoping he can be more productive than his last two starts. The righthander has giving up 12 runs in 9 2/3 innings over his last two outings.

Mitre gave up five runs in 6 2/3 frames, but still earned the victory in an 8-5 win against the San Francisco Giants on Sunday.

Mitre is 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA in three career starts against the Astros.