Astros Pitch What They Have : Braves series: It isn’t much, but that’s the way the season has gone for Houston and its youth movement.

As to who pitches for the Houston Astros this weekend in their critical series with the Atlanta Braves, it’s a pretty simple riddle.

“I don’t have a lot of choices,” Manager Art Howe was saying Thursday.

He meant that there is no Mike Scott in the rotation or Dave Smith in the bullpen. In a year of force-feeding by the Astros, Howe has used 11 starters and 16 pitchers in all, eight of them rookies.

“I have a rotation of youngsters, basically, and I’m not handling it any differently now than I have all year,” Howe said.

“I don’t think Tommy or anyone else can have a beef.

“I don’t know how other teams are going about it, but I can tell you that I’m basically using the same people, the same type people, who beat the Dodgers eight times this year.”

He referred to Dodger Manager Tom Lasorda, who wondered aloud last weekend how the Astros could start the unproven Jeff Juden and Ryan Bowen in two of the three games against Atlanta in the Astrodome.

Talk shows evoked whines about that and Howe’s use of veteran Mark Portugal in an unfamiliar relief role in all three games of the sweep by Atlanta.

“Believe me, I agonized over those three losses as much as I have any this season, and it has been a long season,” Howe said.

“I know there was a little rumbling from Tommy, but I think he was silenced by the way Juden and Bowen pitched.

“They probably pitched the two best games that the Braves have had pitched against them in the last 10 days.”

Juden gave up one run in six innings and three in 6 1/3, and Lasorda will be hoping that the 20-year-old rookie will be even more effective tonight when he faces the Braves again in the opener of the three-game series on the final weekend of the regular season.

The Dodgers and Braves are tied for the National League West lead, but Atlanta may have an edge.

As the Dodgers face the uncertain weather of Candlestick Park, the often withering abuse of San Francisco Giant fans and the wicked swings of Will Clark, the Braves get the last-place Astros amid the rocking support of their tomahawk-toting legions at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.

“I respect the Astros, but I like our chances,” Atlanta third baseman Terry Pendleton said. “We’re playing as well as we have all year. We just have to stay focused.”

The Braves are riding a seven-game winning streak, six of those victories having come on road sweeps of the Astros and Cincinnati Reds.

The Braves can avoid a Monday night playoff in Los Angeles with a sweep of Houston and one victory by San Francisco over the Dodgers.

Atlanta will send Steve Avery (17-8), John Smoltz (13-13) and Charlie Leibrandt (15-12) against the Astros.

Houston will counter with Juden, who spent most of the year in double-A ball and is 0-1 with a 6.23 earned-run average in three appearances since his September recall; Portugal (10-11), and, if the race is still alive Sunday, Pete Harnisch (11-9), the ace.

Juden, the Astros’ No. 1 draft choice in 1989, said: “There’s pressure enough pitching in the major leagues when you’re 20 years old without worrying about where it is and who you’re facing. I’ll try to stay focused and do the best I can. It should be exciting.”

The killer for Houston this year has been the bullpen. There has been little relief without Smith, Juan Agosto and Larry Andersen.

The Astros have failed to convert 19 of 52 save opportunities, and their relievers have a 20-34 record, which is why Howe used Portugal in relief in last weekend’s series with the Braves.

“We’ve failed to get it done out of the bullpen, and that’s been the blatant weakness,” Howe said.

Fans caught in the emotion of a title race are likely to ignore the facts and subtleties on which baseball decisions are based. The talk shows in Los Angeles indicate that Dodger fans fear a conspiracy against their team by teams playing Atlanta.

Howe sees no such thing.

“Nothing has changed,” he said. “I’m trying to win every game I can. I owe that to my players and myself. All of this goes on my record, too, and I hope to be in the same situation some day that the Dodgers and Braves are and be treated with the same fairness.”