Dodgers Get This One on the Rebound

The Houston Astros are atop the list of the major leagues’ most disappointing teams, while the Dodgers are in better company.

Their roles were clear Monday night as the Dodgers extended their season-high winning streak to seven games in a 7-6 victory over the Astros in front of 35,155 at Minute Maid Park.

Milton Bradley and Shawn Green hit consecutive home runs in the eighth inning off struggling setup man Dan Miceli as the Dodgers rallied to take the lead, 7-6, for the second time in three innings.

“Two big step-up at-bats from Milton Bradley and Shawn Green,” Manager Jim Tracy said. “If a club answers us and comes back, we’ve been answering right back.

“When you do that it begins to show signs of a very good club. It shows a club that isn’t interested in getting beaten.”

The Dodgers’ late-inning relievers rarely experience letdowns, and they didn’t in the opener of a two-game series.

Setup man Guillermo Mota rebounded from a subpar performance in his previous appearance, working a scoreless eighth, and Tracy again summoned the major leagues’ most dominant closer.

Morgan Ensberg, whose three-run homer in the sixth had given the Astros a 6-5 lead, flied out to deep center leading off against Eric Gagne, who then retired the next two batters for his 26th save in 27 opportunities.

Reliever Giovanni Carrara (2-0) bounced back with a 1-2-3 seventh after giving up Ens- berg’s homer in the sixth, and Alex Cora had two hits in atoning for a two-run throwing error in the Astros’ three-run second.

Leadoff batter Cesar Izturis and Bradley, who has a career-high 10 homers, each had three hits in an 11-hit attack. Adrian Beltre established a personal best with his team-leading 24th homer, and Green’s 12th provided the go-ahead run.

The Dodgers (53-38) moved a season-high 15 games over .500 and have won 16 of their last 19 games. They maintained a 2 1/2-game lead over second-place San Francisco and go for the sweep of a six-game trip tonight against Houston (45-47), fifth in the NL Central.

The Dodgers say they’re among baseball’s elite -- and dare anyone to prove otherwise.

“There’s no doubt about that,” said Gagne, who recorded his third save of the trip. “We think we’re one of the top two, three or four. Whatever, we’re one of the top teams in baseball for sure.

“Nobody can say anything against that. We’ve proven that in the last 20 games because of the way we play baseball. We’ve been playing really good baseball.”

The Dodgers didn’t play their best baseball Monday, but their best wasn’t required against the struggling Astros.

Houston erased a 1-0 deficit with a three-run second inning, scoring two on Cora’s third error this season, during a rundown between first and second. Carrara gave up two hits in the sixth, including Ensberg’s fourth homer, after reliving starter Wilson Alvarez with two out, one on and the Dodgers up, 5-3.

Strong defense and the majors’ top bullpen have provided the foundation for the Dodgers’ second surge of the season, but offense was the key against the Astros.

“The way we’re playing right now as an offense, we have a lot of confidence,” said Beltre, who also leads the team with 60 runs batted in. “If we get behind in a game, we believe we can come back. We’ve done it.”

Bradley, who also doubled and singled, connected on Miceli’s first-pitch fastball to tie the score at 6-6. Green fell behind in the count, 0-and-2, then connected on a split-fingered pitch from Miceli (3-5), and the Dodgers had hit back-to-back homers for the sixth time.

“It was nice to get those two runs quick and get the lead, knowing that we have Mota and Gagne coming,” said Green, batting .389 with two homers and six RBIs in five games since the All-Star break. “We’re in a great stretch. ... We need to stay focused and not get caught up in end results. We’ve got a long way to go.”