Dodgers let it slip away early in 7-4 loss to Houston

Reporting from Houston — 

After Dodgers emergency starter Carlos Monasterios gave up four runs and five hits before he had recorded his second out Sunday, it figured the Dodgers might face a long day.

Sure enough, the Houston Astros collected 14 hits, including five against Ramon Troncoso, to defeat the Dodgers, 7-4, for a split of a four-game series at Minute Maid Park.

The pitching woes overshadowed another big game for reserve outfielder Jay Gibbons, who hit a three-run home run into the second deck in the fourth inning against starter Nelson Figueroa. In 43 at-bats since being called up Aug. 8, the left-handed Gibbons has five home runs and 15 runs batted in.

“Gibbons killed that ball,” Manager Joe Torre said. “Right now, I’m seeing a player that gives you reason to look to him for more.”

And Torre said that was likely because the Dodgers’ regular left fielder, Scott Podsednik, has been bothered by an inflammation in his left foot.

“The last few days he’s been unavailable to us because it’s been more irritating for him, but he should be fine by Tuesday,” when the Dodgers open a three-game series in San Francisco with the Giants after a day off Monday, Torre said. “But with what Gibby has shown us, he certainly deserves more time out there and he’ll probably get it.”

Told of Torre’s remarks, Gibbons said “I like to hear that. I like starting, but anything to help the team is fine.”

Monasterios, a 24-year-old rookie right-hander, was tapped to start when Vicente Padilla was scratched because of a recurring neck problem. But Monasterios gave up four runs in the first inning, including a two-run home run by Hunter Pence, and was pulled after only one out in the second inning.

It didn’t help that Chin-lung Hu, a September call-up who started at shortstop, made a throwing error while trying to start a double play that helped Houston score its other two first-inning runs.

After the Dodgers had tied the score, 4-4, mostly with Gibbons’ home run, Troncoso (1-3) entered in the fifth inning and immediately ran into trouble as doubles by Brett Wallace, Jason Castro and pinch-hitter Geoff Blum gave Houston two runs.

Carlos Lee hit a solo home run in the eighth inning against Octavio Dotel.

Personal milestones

After spending 16 years in the minor leagues, first baseman John Lindsey, 33, got his first big league hit.

With one out in the fifth inning, Lindsey pinch-hit for reliever Ronald Belisario and hit a sinking line drive that Lee couldn’t handle in left field. The Dodgers then retrieved the ball and gave it to Lindsey.

“I finally got one,” Lindsey said. “I couldn’t stop smiling. I was trying my best not to look like a kid out there on the basepaths.”

In the fourth inning, Trent Oeltjen, another September call-up who started in center field, singled for his first hit as a Dodger. Later that inning, call-up Russ Mitchell, who started at third base, got his first major league RBI with a sacrifice fly that brought home James Loney, who had tripled.

Ausmus bows out

Catcher Brad Ausmus, who has said this will be his final year as a player, caught the entire game as a send-off for the 10 seasons he spent with the Astros before joining the Dodgers in 2009.

Ausmus got an ovation from the crowd of 30,240 when he batted for the first time, in the third inning, and as the clapping subsided one woman in the grandstands shouted, “We love you, Brad!”

“I enjoyed my time here,” Ausmus said. “The fans here have always been great to me and they treated me very well today.”

james.peltz@latimes.com