Spurred by a band of former New Orleans Zephyrs Wednesday night, the Astros (78-67) galloped back into first place all by themselves in the NL Central with a 3-1 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park. Jeriome Robertson (14-7) pitched six quite good innings to put another notch on his belt, and he got just enough help from his fellow ex-Zephyrs to see Houston through. A bases-loaded walk to Lance Berkman and a two-run single by Raul Chavez gave the Astros a 3-0 first-inning lead, then Mike Gallo and Kirk Bullinger did the bullpen's part in getting the game to Billy Wagner, who earned save number 41 in the ninth inning.

Had it not been for Houston's first-inning offense against yet another young Brewers' pitcher, Luis Martinez, this game might have gone down as one of the most frustrating of the season. The Astros collected nine hits and eight walks, but left a total of 13 runners on base by the end of the evening. Houston loaded the bases three times in the contest but never could get the hit to break the game wide open. We can take some consolation, though, that the first of those bases-loaded spots yielded the runs that would win it for the Astros. As has been the case on several occasions during this road trip, Houston's action in the first began with two outs. Jeff Bagwell walked and Jeff Kent doubled him over to 3B after smashing the ball to LF. The left-hander Martinez chose to walk Richard Hidalgo intentionally to bring up the right-hand swinging Lance Berkman. The bases-loaded gamble was a calculated one, but Martinez couldn't make it pay off. He walked a patient Berkman, scoring Bagwell, and the Astros had the lead. They expanded that lead immediately when Raul Chavez, who looks both stronger and more confident as a hitter than I've ever seen him, rolled a single up the middle, scoring two more runs. Chavez is not a great hitter, but he's not a bad one, either. If the return of Brad Ausmus in 2004 becomes as cloudy an issue over the off-season as many of us think it might, Chavez could right now be playing his way into a major role on next year's club, especially if John Buck, out much of this season with a knee injury here in New Orleans, is slow to find his bearings again and needs more time at AAA.

Chavez and Robertson have worked well together in the minors, and the pair have certainly worked well together this season. Robertson spaced six hits and three walks over six innings, striking out five. His stuff was diving tonight, and unless one thinks of the walks as problematic (they weren't; he was pitching carefully on two of them), he made very few mistakes. One of those mistakes was a ball up and over the plate to C Eddie Perez in the fifth, which Perez drove into the seats in LF, but that was the only real damage the Brewers were able to do. Robertson was aided by his defense--his own (a pick-off of Scott Podsednik in the first)--and others' (a great Biggio diving catch in LCF on Brady Clark for the last out of that first, and all three outs by Adam Everett in the seventh, on a 1-6 fielder's choice and 6-3 double play.)

Robertson made it into the seventh all right, but once he had given up a leadoff walk to Perez, Jimy Williams went to his bullpen. While still thinner than it was because of the injury to Octavio Dotel, the 'pen responded again with some very good work.Everett saved Gallo an error on the force play, and made the twin-killing smoothly to end any immediate Milwaukee threat. Gallo stayed in the game in the eighth, trying to give the Astros two necessary innings, but after a Podsednik single and a pitch that plunked Brady Clark with one out, Williams called in Bullinger, who did top-notch work as a late-inning man for the Zs this season, and was the only bright light in Sunday's disappointing loss to the Padres. Richie Sexson's hard liner to RF was scary for a moment, but Hidalgo fought the lights well and made the catch. Mark Smith's 5-4 fielder's choice was more conventional.

The Brewers' bullpen of Dave Burba, :Leo Estrella, and Shane Nance held the Astros' horses after Martinez left game at the end of the fifth, but with a lead already in place, all Houston had to do, despite several attempts to get at least one more run, was hold it. This Billy Wagner did with wicked stuff. Wes Helms, who can crush the ball, had no chance on a down and in slider; Perez lined to RF; Bill Hall struck out. It was the second straight economy outing for Wagner but, after three straight appearances, it's doubtful we'll see him Thursday afternoon. Brad Lidge might close instead, or perhaps Rick White.

Houston needs the sweep, and the club will have to dig deep in the early afternoon to get it. The bullpen will be short, and we can expect a change in CF if Biggio doesn't feel fresh. I don't really expect any other lineup alterations except Geoff Blum for Morgan Ensberg at 3B. Bagwell could use a day off to tune his bat, but that's not going to happen--not in a pennant race. What I am concerned about is possibly seeing an Astro team too anxious to get back home to face the Cardinals. They must--and I think they know they must--finish off the Brewers completely before looking to the weekend. But a four-game sweep is tough to get against any team, so I am not taking the series finale lightly. At the very least, however, the Astros will head back to Houston Thursday as the sun sets with no less than a share of first place, and no less than a seven-win road trip. They can thank for those good results the explosions of Jeff Kent's bat at the beginning of the trip, and the quietly-effective contributions of a gutsy band of former minor-leaguers near the trip's end. Whether Houston will go on to win the division no one can yet say, but we can say that, in common with most division winners, the Astros are starting to get production from the players out of whom we expect it--Kent, Hidalgo, Bagwell, Berkman--and from the players out of whom we couldn't have predicted it at the beginning of the season--Gallo, Bullinger, Chavez. Such is the way of the baseball season. The unexpectedness of so many of its performances, especially this late in the year, is not only charming, but also most welcome. Even a moment's reflection about the work of players like Gallo and Chavez in getting the Astros where they are can relieve the tension of a tight race for the flag and remind us--if we've forgotten--what fun these games are to watch, what fun they were meant to be.

Astroday will return Friday night.