Astros Shut Down Brewers

Octavio Dotel finally looked like the prospect the Houston Astros thought they were getting from the New York Mets.

Dotel pitched five strong innings despite a pain in his left hip and combined with three relievers on a two-hitter as the Houston Astros beat the Brewers 5-0 Monday night.

"The fastball he's got, if he's got any kind of breaking ball at all, he's a problem for hitters," Astros manager Larry Dierker said after Dotel lowered his ERA from 5.04 to 4.20.

Dotel, who came to Houston in the trade for 22-game winner Mike Hampton, allowed just the one hit, winning for the first time since beating Philadelphia in relief for the New York Mets last Sept. 19.

He struck out five of the first nine batters and retired the side in order in the first, second and third innings before walking Jeromy Burnitz with two out in the fourth.

His sixth strikeout ended the inning, but Tyler Houston broke up the no-hit bid in the fifth with a one-out bunt single down the third-base line.

Dotel raced off the mound, fielded the ball cleanly, turned and threw a perfect strike to first, but Houston just beathe throw. Jose Hernandez flied out and Kevin Barker ground out to end the inning.

Dotel did not return for the sixth, but relievers Mike Maddux, Jay Powell and Billy Wagner preserved his victory.

Dotel's first win in five starts left Brewers manager Davey Lopes impressed.

"He must have had some movement on it because we couldn't get the big part of the bat on it," he said after the Astros took three of four in the series, blanking the Brewers twice. Milwaukee has been shut out three times this season.

Houston doubled off Maddux with two out in the seventh for the other Brewer hit.

Powell pitched the eighth. He walked the leadoff batter, pinch hitter James Mouton. Powell, who failed to protect a 10-7 lead seven days ago in a loss to San Diego, got Charlie Hayes to hit into a double play. Ron Belliard lined to Craig Biggio to end the inning.

In the top of the ninth, the Astros added two insurance runs off Curtis Leskanic on pinch-hitter Bill Spiers' RBI double and a sacrifice fly by Richard Hidalgo, who went 3-for-3.

Billy Wagner, who wasn't used in the Astros' 4-3 loss on Sunday, retired the side in order in the ninth.

Lopes was hoping the Brewers would duplicate their two-out, ninth-inning heroics for the second day in a row, until Dieker made the move to use Wagner.

"I was happy until the ninth inning," Lopes said. "Then you get behind 5-0 and you're not going to score five runs against one of the best relief pitchers in baseball."

Mitch Meluskey went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and three RBI.

Steve Woodard (0-4) extended his winless streak to 16 starts since he beat Kansas City last July 16. Woodard, 0-7 in that span, allowed three runs, nine hits and four walks in 5 2-3 innings. It's the longest losing streak of the right-hander's career.

"He caught a couple of bad breaks that buried him tonight," Houston said.

Meluskey hit a two-out, two-run homer in the second, his third homer of the season, then added a single in the fourth following Daryle Ward's bloop double and Hidalgo's looping liner to center.

Following Meluskey's hit, Tim Bogar grounded to third baseman Jose Hernandez, who threw high to home, but Houston made a sweeping tag on Hidalgo for the second out.

Dotel sacrificed, Craig Biggio was intentionally walked to load the bases and Roger Cedeno hit into an inning-ending fielder's choice.

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