Backe pitches, hits Astros to 5-0 win over Nats

Houston Astros starting pitcher Brandon Backe delivers against the Washington Nationals during first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, July 13, 2008, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

WASHINGTON—Brandon Backe pitched seven-plus innings and helped himself with a pair of hits Sunday, leading the Houston Astros to a 5-0 victory over the Washington Nationals in a pre-All-Star break battle of last-place teams.

Backe raised his batting average to .345 while lowering his ERA to 4.76. He scored after leading off the third inning with a double, then singled and scored in the seventh. He even attempted a suicide squeeze in the fourth, but fouled the pitch off and then struck out.

Undeterred by spending so much time on the basepaths on a hot summer day, Backe (6-9) supplemented his first multihit game of the year with his best game to date on the mound. He allowed only five hits, walked four and struck out five. He worked out of jams in the second and third but settled down in the middle innings before he was removed after walking Willie Harris to lead off the eighth.

Chris Sampson relieved Backe and erased the baserunner when he got Paul Lo Duca to hit into a 1-6-3 double play.

Ty Wigginton hit his eighth home run of the season and Carlos Lee had three RBIs for the Astros, who took two of three from the Nationals and finished 4-5 on their road trip leading into the break.

The Nationals, who have baseball's worst record and worst offense, were shut out for the 12th time, most in the majors. Washington has lost 10 of 13, and three of the losses were shutouts. They sent the minimum number of batters to the plate over the final five innings, their only two runners both negated by double plays.

Nationals starter Odalis Perez (2-7), whose last outing ended prematurely when he was ejected after arguing a pair of third-inning balks, allowed three runs and nine hits over six innings. Perez enters the break with a respectable 3.71 ERA, but, like many Nationals pitchers, he has suffered from a seasonlong lack of run support.

Wigginton's homer to left field in the second inning turned out to be the only run the Astros needed, but Backe helped add to the tally when his double to left started a two-run third inning. Backe scored on Lance Berkman's single, then Berkman stole second without a throw when the Nationals stopped paying attention to him. Washington paid for the mistake when Lee singled to center, scoring Berkman.

Backe's single to left led off the seventh. He was bunted to second, then he and Berkman scored on Lee's two-out RBI single.

The Nationals' best threat came in the third inning. Harris led off with a single but was caught trying to steal second, a costly mistake because both batters behind him reached base. Austin Kearns then hit into a fielder's choice, and Ronnie Belliard struck out to end the inning.

Notes:@ Houston first-round draft pick Jason Castro, who agreed to contract terms Saturday, had breakfast with manager Cecil Cooper and visited with the team before the game. ... Perez fell to 0-5 vs. the Astros in seven career starts. The six previous starts had been at Houston.