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Oswalt to start vs. Phillies despite hip injury

May 22, 2008 - 12:51 PM Philadelphia (26-22) at Houston (27-21) 8:05 pm EDT

HOUSTON (Ticker) - After a brief injury scare, Roy Oswalt appears to be just fine.

Oswalt takes the hill on Thursday as the Houston Astros aim to stay hot in the opener of a three-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Oswalt (4-4, 5.43 ERA) left his last start on Saturday in the seventh inning with a hip injury, and said he was sent back out despite telling manager Cecil Cooper he could not continue.

The righthander was rocked for six runs and 11 hits before leaving the Astros' 6-2 loss to Texas. Cooper said the situation was a "misunderstanding."

Oswalt should enjoy seeing the Phillies in town since he is 6-1 with a 2.79 ERA in nine career games against them.

Oswalt will look to lead the Astros to their 10th win in the last 14 games. In order to do so, he will have to slow the Phillies' high-octane offense. Ryan Howard belted two home runs to lead Philadelphia to a 12-2 victory over Washington on Wednesday.

Kyle Kendrick (3-2, 4.76) will take the mound for the Phillies. Kendrick threw a scoreless inning in his last start against Toronto on Sunday before a rain delay ended his outing.