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  Friday, Apr. 21 8:05pm ET
Padres' Williams 2-0 vs. Astros in last week
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

HOUSTON (AP) -- Woody Williams might like pitching against Houston in every start.

"I don't look at it like that," he said Friday night after leading the San Diego Padres over the Houston Astros 7-2. "I don't worry about who I'm pitching against or what I've done against a team in the past. I just try to concentrate on the hitters I'm pitching against."

Woody Williams
Woody Williams is 3-1 after beating Houston's Jose Lima for the second time in six days.
Williams (3-1) scattered four hits in seven innings as he beat Jose Lima (1-3) for the second time in six days.

"He did a good job," San Diego manager Bruce Bochy said. "He had all of his pitches working and had good command. He's a competitor. He's been throwing well except for one start."

Making his second career start in his hometown, Williams struck out seven and walked five.

"He pitched a good game against us in San Diego and did a good job again tonight," Astros manager Larry Dierker said. "He kept the ball out of the strike zone a lot. It's not like he was overpowering us. I figured if we faced him twice, he'd pitch well once and we'd hit him once. But it didn't work out that way."

Williams was a little surprised with the success he had at Enron Field.

"I got away with a lot of bad pitches tonight," he said. "All of the guys on the team told me how drastic it is when the ball gets in the air here. It's definitely a hitter-friendly park. I was fortunate not to give up any more home runs. I had a lot of family and friends here. It was good to have that kind of support on the road. It's nice to sleep in my bed."

Lima allowed five runs on eight hits, including five doubles, in five innings.

"He may not have thrown as well tonight as he has in the past, but he'll be all right," Williams said. "He won't give up. He's one guy you don't have to worry about his confidence level. One good outing and he'll bounce back. I know when I was up there, his pitches looked tough. He's just in a slump now."

The start is in contrast to last season, when Lima was 21-10.

"I'm not doing anything different than I was last year," he said. "I have to look at the tape to see what's wrong. I can't wait to get out of this month."

Ryan Klesko, Bret Boone and Damian Jackson each had two doubles to lead the Padre attack. The game drew 42,092, the largest crowd thus far at Enron Field.

The Astros, 2-5 at their new ballpark, returned following a five-game road trip. Temporary padding 8 inches high was installed along the fence in front of the left-field bullpen, but the concrete curb is still hazardous.

Astros general manager Gerry Hunsicker wants a 3-foot-high pad installed, similar to the one by the right-field bullpen.

San Diego took a 2-0 lead in the second on Boone's RBI double and Gonzalez's run-scoring grounder. Klesko hit an RBI double in the fourth and scored on Eric Owens' single, and Williams' sacrifice fly made it 5-0.

Jeff Bagwell homered leading off the sixth, a 365-footer to left that was the 25th homer in seven games at Enron. Bagwell has five homers in his last eight games after failing to hit one in his first seven.

Gonzalez hit a two-run single in the eighth off Jose Cabrera to make it 7-1. Tony Eusebio had a sacrifice fly in the bottom half off Carlos Almanzar, and Trevor Hoffman pitched the ninth to complete the six-hitter.

Game notes
Bill Spiers became the first Astros pinch-hitter to get a hit this year, ending an 0-for-17 slide. ... Scott Elarton will make his season debut Sunday, pitching against San Diego's Brian Meadows. Elarton has been rehabbing from offseason rotator cuff surgery. ... The Astros announced that 40,950 is the revised seating capacity for Enron Field, a decrease of 1,050 because of obstructed views. However, standing room tickets may be sold. ... .. Tony Gwynn needs one single for 2,331, which would move him into 10th place on the career list ... The Padres are 1-6 in one-run games after going 28-25 last season.

 


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