Michael Bourn

8:05, Minute Maid Park, Houston. TV: Comcast SportsNet. Radio: WPHT (1210-AM); WUBA (1480-AM) Spanish. Phillies LHP Cliff Lee (5-1, 1.80) vs. Astros LHP Wandy Rodriguez (12-9, 2.93) Phillies update: Lee hit his first road bump as a Phillie last weekend, allowing six runs on 10 hits, including three home runs, in five innings against the Braves ... Up until his last start, Lee had allowed five runs in four starts, all of them wins ... Lee has never faced the Astros ... The Phillies have yet to face the Astros this season.

Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino did not win the World Series again this year, but they are repeat winners of the Gold Glove at their positions. Rollins won his third consecutive National League Gold Glove at shortstop yesterday, while Victorino claimed his second straight in the outfield. Rollins, who will turn 31 on Nov. 27, led all major-league shortstops with a .990 fielding percentage and made just six errors, fewest among full-time big-league shortstops. He had an 86-game errorless streak during the season.

Geovany Soto didn't get the automatic home run he deserved, but it didn't make a difference last night as the visiting Chicago Cubs beat Houston, 7-2. Soto was credited with an inside-the-park homer in the fourth inning despite replays showing that it should have been an automatic home run. The ball bounced just to the right of the yellow line on the wall in left-center. Astros centerfielder Michael Bourn scooped it up and threw it home, but Soto scored easily before the throw got there.

Roger Clemens is in a minority of players disputing their names in the Mitchell Report. Two more players named in the report showed up to spring camps and said the accusations that pertained to them were accurate. They were Cincinnati pitcher Kent Mercker and Colorado pitcher Matt Herges . Both confirmed using HGH several years ago. "I chose to do the wrong thing," Herges told reporters in Rockies camp. "It's embarrassing to even talk about. " . . . Andy Pettitte , another Mitchell Report listee who has confirmed taking HGH, is due to report to Yankees camp tomorrow.

As part of the deal that sent righthanded pitcher Roy Oswalt and cash consideration to the Phillies on Thursday, the team surrendered J.A. Happ and two minor-league prospects. The Astros acquired outfielder Anthony Gose and shortstop Jonathan Villar, and then in turn dealt Gose to Toronto in exchange for first-base prospect Brent Wallace. Gose, 19, was a second-round draft pick of the Phillies in 2008. This season he hit .263 for single-A Clearwater, where he registered four home runs, 20 RBIs, and 36 stolen bases.

Position: Closer Height, weight: 6-5, 210 pounds Age: 33. Birthdate: Dec. 23, 1976 Hometown: Englewood, Colo. Years in major leagues: 9 How obtained: Acquired from Houston Astros with Eric Bruntlett for Michael Bourn, Geoff Geary and Mike Costanzo in November 2007. Statistically speaking: In 34 postseason appearances with Houston and the Phillies, Lidge is 2-4 with a 2.40 ERA and 17 saves in 19 opportunities. For his career, Lidge is 26-29 with 222 saves and a 3.51 ERA. More important, he has one of the two most memorable saves in the Phillies' 127 years of existence as only he and Tug McGraw threw the final pitch of a World Series title.

The Phillies clubhouse is a quiet and empty place after a loss, and last night proved no different. Not that much needed to be said anyway. They knew they had wasted an excellent opportunity. After struggling mightily this spring and toiling through his first two starts of the season, Kyle Kendrick allowed four hits, two runs and a walk in seven innings of a 2-1 loss to the Houston Astros at Citizens Bank Park. "I'm starting to feel like myself," Kendrick said. That proved to be the silver lining last night, because the Phillies need Kendrick to pitch the way he pitched for them in 2007, when he went 10-4 in 20 starts.

Tom Glavine has made 672 starts in the majors. Twice, 19 years apart, he failed to record an out. The second time came yesterday against the reeling Washington Nationals, when the Atlanta Braves' 42-year-old lefty departed with a strained right hamstring and was charged with two runs. The reliever who replaced him, Jeff Bennett, walked in two other runs, then hit a batter who scored, too. The host Nationals went on to win, 5-4, to end their nine-game losing streak. "As soon as I landed, I felt it," Glavine said.

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - The first at-bat of the bottom of the first inning in an otherwise forgettable Grapefruit League game between the Nationals and Braves yesterday actually had longstanding connections to the Phillies' past - and possible ripple effects on the franchise's future. Gio Gonzalez took the mound for the Nationals. Michael Bourn stepped in the batter's box for the Braves. Both are former Phillies farmhands who developed into All-Stars for other clubs, and both are central figures in the National League East race this season.

MIAMI - Hanley Ramirez continued his recent torrid hitting with three hits and three RBIs and Javier Vazquez pitched seven solid innings as the Florida Marlins defeated the Houston Astros, 6-3, Friday night. Florida broke a 2-2 tie and took the lead for good on Ramirez's run-scoring single in the third inning. He drove in Gaby Sanchez, who reached on a two-out double. Ramirez is hitting .448 with three home runs and 11 RBIs in July. The Marlins increased the lead to 5-2 in the fifth on Logan Morrison's bases-loaded walk and Mike Stanton's sacrifice fly. Vazquez (5-8)

Hanley Ramirez continued his recent torrid hitting with three hits and three RBI and Javier Vazquez pitched seven solid innings as the Florida Marlins defeated the visiting Houston Astros, 6-3, last night. Florida broke a 2-2 tie and took the lead for good on Ramirez's run-scoring single in the third inning. He drove in Gaby Sanchez, who reached on a two-out double. Ramirez is hitting .448 with three home runs and 11 RBI in July. The Marlins increased the lead to 5-2 in the fifth on Logan Morrison's bases-loaded walk and Mike Stanton's sacrifice fly. Vazquez (5-8)

HOUSTON - Hunter Pence's two-out, RBI single in the ninth inning lifted the Houston Astros to a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night. The Astros trailed, 3-1, entering the ninth inning before Michael Bourn tied it with his two-out, full-count double down the right-field line that scored two against Kenley Jansen (1-1), the hard-throwing rookie who is the latest pitcher the Dodgers have given a shot to close games. Bill Hall started the rally with a one-out single and Angel Sanchez walked with two outs.

HOUSTON - At the plate in the ninth inning with the game tied, Hunter Pence knew he had to find a way to help the Astros beat the Cincinnati Reds and end a four-game skid. Pence came through, hitting a tiebreaking double to help the Astros avoid a series sweep with a 4-3 win over the Reds on Wednesday. Mike Leake (3-2) walked J.R. Towles with one out in the ninth before Pence's full-count hit landed in the corner of right field and sent Towles home. "The last couple of games have been pretty rough," Pence said of the first two games of the series, in which Houston was outscored, 13-4.

HE HAD BEEN there before, standing in the on-deck circle, waiting for the commercial break to end, envisioning some way, any way, to reach base and start a rally. It all looked and felt so familiar to Jimmy Rollins as he prepared to lead off an inning for the 2,479th time in his career. Sure, he was operating out of the three hole for just the 41st time in his 10-plus-year career. Sure, in normal circumstances, Chase Utley would have been the batter striding to the plate in the ninth inning with the Phillies trailing by two runs.

Position: Closer Height, weight: 6-5, 210 pounds Age: 33. Birthdate: Dec. 23, 1976 Hometown: Englewood, Colo. Years in major leagues: 9 How obtained: Acquired from Houston Astros with Eric Bruntlett for Michael Bourn, Geoff Geary and Mike Costanzo in November 2007. Statistically speaking: In 34 postseason appearances with Houston and the Phillies, Lidge is 2-4 with a 2.40 ERA and 17 saves in 19 opportunities. For his career, Lidge is 26-29 with 222 saves and a 3.51 ERA. More important, he has one of the two most memorable saves in the Phillies' 127 years of existence as only he and Tug McGraw threw the final pitch of a World Series title.

PHILLIES at SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS AT&T Park, Today, 7:57 p.m. TV: FOX Radio: WPHT (1210), WUBA (1480), ESPN (950, 97.3-FM, 97.5-FM) Weather: Partly cloudy, 50s, winds less than 5 mph Game Line: Phillies -$120; Giants +$110. Over/Under: 7 runs. Phillies RHP Roy Halladay (2010 regular season: 21-10, 2.44; postseason: 1-1, 2.25) vs. Giants RHP Tim Lincecum (2010 regular season: 16-10, 3.43; postseason: 2-0, 1.69) 1. Roy Halladay has to have gas left. Three days' rest?

1:05 Citizens Bank Park. TV: Comcast SportsNet. Radio: WPHT (1210-AM); WUBA (1480-AM) Spanish.   Today's pitchers   Phillies RHP Kyle Kendrick (8-6, 4.58) vs. Astros LHP Wandy Rodriguez (9-12, 4.00)   Who's hot   Jayson Werth: The rightfielder hit his 17th homer of the season last night, a solo shot off J.A. Happ in the fifth inning.   Who's not   Ryan Howard: The slugger got last night off, 1 night after being ejected in the 14th inning of the Phillies' 4-2 loss to the Astros.

Paul Dehel wore a Phillies jersey and carried a two-sided, autographed sign praising a visiting player and mocking an umpire. The 17-year-old from Jenkintown summed up a strange night at Citizens Bank Park. To many in the 106th consecutive sellout crowd, the bad guys in the building weren't so much the players in rust-colored jerseys - after all, popular former Phillie J.A. Happ was the Astros' starting pitcher - as the arbiters in gray slacks and black hats. "After the last two nights, I had to," Dehel said of his decision to display a sign that took umpire Scott Barry to task for his work in the 14th inning of the Phillies' 4-2 loss to the Astros on Tuesday night.