KFDM COOP Posted August 15, 2006 Report Posted August 15, 2006 http://www.chron.com/sports/ Astros take a blow Oswalt's wrist bruised as more ground lost in wild-card race It was only four days ago the Astros were sniffing the lead in the National League wild-card race, having put together an impressive stretch that had many believing great things were ahead. The Astros not only lost more ground in their tenuous playoff chase with a disheartening 3-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Monday night at Minute Maid Park, they lost their best pitcher to a bruised wrist in the process. Roy Oswalt was forced to leave following seven innings after he was hit on the wrist by a line drive off the bat of Ronny Cedeño. Oswalt, who finished the inning and was examined by team doctors after the game, isn't expected to be out for the long term. "It will probably be stiff, but right now we're thinking he's going to be able to make his next start," Astros manager Phil Garner said. Oswalt is listed as day-to-day, much like the Astros. In losing their third consecutive home game before a crowd of 37,260, they trail the Cincinnati Reds by four games in the wild-card standings and desperately need to get going if they are to stay in the playoff hunt. "We can't keep going south of .500," Garner said. "Somehow we have to find a way to score some runs. Our pitching's been pretty good. We gave up three runs, but we've got to score some runs. I don't care who's on the mound, you have to figure out a way to do it. We have to start making a run at .500." Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano (13-5) dominated the Astros for the fourth time this year, throwing eight scoreless innings. He allowed just four hits and struck out five while overcoming seven walks to improve to 3-0 with a 0.58 ERA against the Astros this year. "He's one of the premier pitchers in all of baseball," Astros catcher Brad Ausmus said. "He's a workhorse that throws 200 innings and has an ERA in the mid-3s. "He's goes 95 (mph) with movement. I don't think there's a team out there that wouldn't want him."
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