Astros 5, Phillies 1
Brett Myers burned his former team by tossing eight solid innings and Carlos Lee belted a two-run homer off ex-teammate Roy Oswalt as the Houston Astros prevented the Philadelphia Phillies from clinching a postseason berth on Monday with a 5-1 home triumph.
National League East-leading Philadelphia could have gained entry into the playoffs with a win and a loss by St. Louis. The Cardinals dropped a 6-5 decision to the Pittsburgh Pirates earlier Monday.
Rookie J.D. Martinez collected three hits and scored three times for Houston (50-97), which for the time being avoided setting a franchise mark for losses in a season.
Myers (5-13), who pitched in parts of eight seasons with the Phillies, recorded his second straight victory after being winless for 2 1/2 months. He allowed one run on six hits and struck out four.
With Houston nursing a 2-1 advantage in the fifth inning, Lee launched an offering from Oswalt (7-9) over the wall in left field for his 16th homer of the season. Lee, who went 2-for-3, has hit safely in six straight games and 20 of his last 21.
Oswalt, who spent the first nine-plus seasons of his career with Houston, yielded five runs on 11 hits in seven innings.
Former Astro Hunter Pence had two hits and Pete Orr added an RBI single for Philadelphia.