For the first time, manager Cecil Cooper used the ace label on left-hander Wandy Rodriguez.
"You have the two-headed ace right now," Cooper said, referring to longtime ace Roy Oswalt and Rodriguez. Rodriguez (4-2, 1.90 ERA) leads the Astros in victories and ERA after having seven quality starts over eight outings. The only outing that wasn't a quality start could have been if Cooper had let him pitch the sixth inning against Atlanta, as Rodriguez requested.
But Cooper tried to take it back.
"That was just a slip," Cooper said. "Don't even go there. Just a slip. Roy's the ace and Wandy's showing he is a very mature, good pitcher. He's showing me a lot."
Oswalt, an extremely competitive right-hander, has been one of Rodriguez's biggest supporters this year.
"Wandy's pitched very well," Oswalt, who will start Saturday against the Cubs, has said numerous times this season.
ASTROS AT CUBS, PPD., RAIN: The opener of a three-game series at Wrigley Field was rescheduled for July 30.
