“He came up and told me a few days ago, ‘Your ace is back,’” Cooper said. “That was great to know. I’m going to ride that as long as I can.”
Oswalt won consecutive starts for the first time since August, and Miguel Tejada and Lance Berkman drove in three runs each to lead the Houston Astros over the San Diego Padres 10-3 Monday night.
Oswalt (2-3) allowed three runs and six hits in seven innings as the Astros won their second straight following a three-game losing streak. Oswalt was 6-0 over eight starts from July 20 to Sept. 3, then went 0-4 in six starts before winning at Philadelphia on April 16.
“I feel better now,” Oswalt said. “I feel a lot closer to my old self. I told him that after the Phillies game because I got command of my breaking pitches. When you have only one pitch, it’s hard to perform, but now I have all of them.”
Justin Germano (0-2) helped Oswalt relax by allowing a career-high 10 runs in 3 1/3 innings. The 10 hits he gave up matched the most off him in 39 major league appearances.
Germano also walked three, and his earned-run average for the season rose from 1.35 to 5.01.
Houston scored its most runs this season.
“When I walked on four pitches, that was great,” leadoff man Michael Bourn said. “We all were clicking.”
Houston’s first seven batters of the night reached on five hits and two walks. Tejada hit an RBI single, Berkman drove in three runs with his fifth homer of the season and Hunter Pence had an RBI double.
Jim Edmonds hit a solo home run in the second, his first homer since Sept. 14, but Tejada’s two-run homer made it 7-1 in the second.
