As his players hurriedly packed to leave town,Dodgers Manager Joe Torre sat in his clubhouse office Thursday night and said simply: 

LHP Wandy Rodriguez appears to be the front-line starter hardly anybody thought the Astros had to complement ace RHP Roy Oswalt. 

--RHP Chris Sampson is pitching with a partial tear of his hip's labrum, but there isn't much concern. 

Astros closer Jose Valverde, who strained his right calf and suffered a right ankle bruise Tuesday night, made drastic improvement Thursday. 

Chad Billingsley didn't have much to say about his dominating performance against the Houston Astros on Thursday night. 

The Houston Astros haven't faced Yovani Gallardo in almost two years, but they can't be too excited to see the Milwaukee Brewers' ace again. 

Apr. 

Jose Valverde was not available to close Wednesday night because of the bruised right ankle and pulled calf he suffered Tuesday night. 

--Before RHP Roy Oswalt was taken deep three times in the sixth inning Wednesday, an Astros pitcher hadn't allowed three home runs in an inning since Jason Hirsh allowed three Aug. 

LHP Wandy Rodriguez appears to be the front-line starter hardly anybody thought the Astros had to complement ace RHP Roy Oswalt. 

One quirky feature of the Houston Astros' Minute Maid Park is "Tal's Hill," a 30-degree, 90-foot-wide grassy incline that rises from the outfield warning track to the wall in center field. 

When theDodgers arrived in Houston with a full head of steam to play the struggling Astros,Dodgers starter Randy Wolf warned that his former teammates shouldn't be shortchanged. 

One quirky feature of the Houston Astros' Minute Maid Park is "Tal's Hill," a 30-degree, 90-foot-wide grassy incline that rises from the outfield warning track to the wall in center field. 

The Houston Astros' offense has awakened from a slow start to outslug one of the National League's best hitting teams. 

Long-legged and speedy, Hunter Pence probably could have scored from second base.