Gagne Spoils Astros’ Party

The Houston Astros will have to wait to celebrate after Eric Gagne made another strong statement.

The rookie right-hander pitched six scoreless innings Friday night to help the Dodgers defeat the Astros, 5-1, and prevent them from clinching at least a share of a playoff berth before an eager crowd of 50,791 at the Astrodome.

Gagne (1-1) earned his first victory by working out of jams throughout his 109-pitch outing. He walked five and struck out five.

Houston (95-65) and Cincinnati are tied for the lead in the National League Central division with two games remaining. They lead the New York Mets by one game in the NL wild-card race.

“I’ve been waiting for this a long time,” Gagne said of the victory that came in his fifth start with the Dodgers. “I struggled a little bit with my command, but I kept battling and it worked out.”

Said Houston’s Carl Everett: “I rarely give a guy credit, but this kid pitched a real good game. He was in and out [of the strike zone]; just a real good game.”

The Astros stranded eight runners against Gagne (10 overall), who again struggled with his command but threw strikes at key moments. Closer Jeff Shaw pitched a perfect ninth for his 35th save. The Dodgers improved to 77-83.

“He didn’t go after guys as much as he did [in his previous starts] because he didn’t have real good command, but I liked the way he handled himself,” Manager Davey Johnson said of Gagne, who will compete for a spot in next season’s rotation during spring training. “He made pitches when he had to and he just keeps impressing.”

Left fielder Gary Sheffield hit his 34th home run--a solo blast--in the first to stake Gagne to a 1-0 lead. Sheffield also had a two-run single during a four-run third inning against Astro starter Shane Reynolds (16-14), extending the Dodgers’ lead to 5-0.

Sheffield’s three runs batted in gave him 101 for the season. It marks the third time the five-time all-star has driven in at least 100 runs in his 11-year career.

Johnson said Sheffield probably won’t start the final two games of the season because he has been experiencing ankle and shoulder problems. With nothing at stake for the Dodgers, Johnson doesn’t want Sheffield playing on the Astrodome’s artificial turf.

“Sheff has had a great year, but I may not play him anymore,” Johnson said. “He’s had ankle and shoulder problems all year, and I don’t want him banging around this hard Astroturf.”