Oswalt starts tuesday vs brewers

[IE]

Oswalt's breaking stuff was better in his start on Wednesday against the Pirates, but it still wasn't enough to win. The right-hander, with no help from a sluggish defense, yielded four runs (three earned) over six innings in a loss. Oswalt faced the Brewers in Houston on May 2, earning his third win after yielding four runs (three earned) over six frames.

 

[IE]

Excessive relief

Astros manager Cecil Cooper said he's worried about the bullpen's workload.

Entering Sunday, the bullpen had accounted for 35 percent of the team's innings pitched this year, which is close to the workload the bullpen had last year (34.6 percent).

"There's a lot of innings they've had to pitch," Cooper said. "You can't wear those guys down.

"One guy (Doug Brocail) is 41 years old, and he'll pitch more than anybody. He's been a pleasant, pleasant surprise. You can't ask him to keep up that pace."