Jeff Bagwell went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer for the Astros (8-4), who could have matched the best franchise start after 12 games with a win.

Bagwell missed a chance to tie the game in the ninth. With Craig Biggio on third and no outs, Bagwell grounded to third base and Biggio was thrown out at the plate.

Mike James (1-0) got one out for the win and Steve Kline got two outs for his first save. Astros manager Larry Dierker made contact with home plate umpire Scott Higgins, who said pinch hitter Julio Lugo had gone around on a two-strike pitch.

"I don't have to look at a replay," Dierker said. "Their stated goal is to get the call right. If you don't see it, you ask for help. If he saw that, he was seeing things."

Bagwell's two-run homer, his fourth, gave the Astros the lead in the first. He's 11-for-20 in the first six games of Houston's nine-game trip.

April 13, 2001

Weekend slugfest?

The Astros head to St. Louis for a three-game weekend series that could turn out to be a slugfest between the top two teams in the NL Central starting Friday at hitter-friendly Busch Stadium.

Heading into the weekend, the Cardinals and Astros stood third and fourth, respectively, in National League team batting average. The Cardinals were hitting .283 as a team with 18 homers, good for second in the league. Houston, meanwhile, was hitting .275 with 15 homers, fifth in the NL.

This should be a good test for the Astros, who started the season by winning four of six at home, then winning their first road series of the season by taking two of three from Milwaukee in the inaugural homestand of Miller Park.

Winning two out of three at St. Louis won't be quite as easy. The Cardinals got blasted right out of Colorado with a season-opening sweep, but rebounded to win five straight. Their pitching effectively shut down the Rockies for most of their three-game set heading into the weekend.

Probable pitching matchups for the weekend: Friday, Houston's Kent Bottenfield (0-1, 7.20) vs. St. Louis' Darryl Kile (1-1, 8.18); Saturday, Scott Elarton (1-1, 9.00) vs. Rick Ankiel (1-0, 3.60); Sunday, Jose Lima (1-0, 3.00) vs. Andy Benes (0-1, 13.50).

The interesting thing is that the Cardinals have been doing their damage without major contributions from their usual cast of characters.

A wobbly knee has limited Mark McGwire's at-bats so far, and the big fella had hit just one home run heading into the weekend. CF Jim Edmonds started on a tear, hitting .462 before an injured toe suffered during a post-strikeout tirade caused him to miss several games, and he was being bothered by a sore hamstring heading into the weekend.

However, versatile rookie Albert Pujols was hitting .344 heading into the weekend with three home runs and 11 RBI, while Ray Lankford was hitting .429 with four homers and eight RBI.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS: Shane Reynolds is due to come off the disabled list Sunday or Monday and outfielder Moises Alou and reliever Doug Brocail are expected to follow shortly, so the Astros will have some roster shuffling to do.

Who will get the call?

With the return of Shane Reynolds looming, an unlucky Astros hurler will make an undesirable trip to the bullpen.

Only one man in the current rotation, Opening Day starter Scott Elarton, appears immune to relief duty.

That means Jose Lima or Kent Bottenfield or Octavio Dotel or Wade Miller will make their way to the bullpen to make room for Reynolds.

"Elarton's not coming out," manager Larry Dierker told the Houston Chronicle. "Miller and Dotel have a higher ceiling than Bottenfield or Lima just simply because they have more explosive stuff. That doesn't mean they'll be able to pitch better, because less stuff and good location is better than good stuff and bad location."

The Astros flirted with bringing back Reynolds, a 32-year-old righty who has accumulated 86 wins for Houston in nine years, this weekend in St. Louis.

Instead, general manager Gerry Hunsicker and manager Larry Dierker deferred the decision by sticking to the original plan and giving Reynolds a second rehabilitation start Friday with Double-A Round Rock.

The Bastrop, La., native threw seven shutout innings for Triple-A New Orleans on April 8. Lima might've eliminated his name from bullpen jeopardy on Tuesday, when he continued his mastery over the Brewers by throwing eight shutout innings.

Coming off a 7-16 debacle in which he served up a National League record 48 home runs, Lima (1-0) needed to show the Astros something. He did, scattering six hits and employing a two-seam fastball on the corners to induce 12 groundouts.

"Nobody wants to go out," Dierker said. "I hope they all make statements like this, and Shane will never get back in."

As it stands now, Reynolds will make his 2001 debut April 18 at Pittsburgh in the final game of a nine-game road trip.

"I think we are all enthusiastic about getting Shane back, but I don't want to be shortsighted in April," Hunsicker told the Chronicle.

Dierker said Dotel and Lima could probably be effective relievers, because neither takes a long time to get loose. Dotel, Lima and Miller have all turned in impressive starts in the past week, seemingly putting the onus on Bottenfield.

Making his first start since July, Dotel allowed one unearned run over seven tough innings April 6 in Houston's 4-1 victory over Pittsburgh. Miller struck out 11 in 7 2/3 innings against the Pirates on the previous night.

"I don't know about Bottenfield," Dierker said. "He's pitched out of relief a lot during the course of his career. But at this stage, I don't know if he could be a guy you can get up and get in the game within five minutes."

The 32-year-old Bottenfield, who signed a one-year deal worth $2 million this past winter, agreed sharply.

Though he has started just 108 of his 280 big-league appearances, he has no yen for relief.

"I don't know if I can throw two days in a row," Bottenfield told the Chronicle. "I don't know if I can throw two innings one day and come back two days or three days later and throw two more. I don't know."