Brewers deal for pitchers

Milwaukee Brewers

    Infielder Tyler Houston was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers by the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night for minor league pitchers Ben Diggins and Shane Nance. 

      Houston, 31, was signed as a free agent on Jan. 17, 2000, and was hitting .302 this year with seven homers and 33 RBIs. Milwaukee also will send the Dodgers a player to be named.

   Since joining the Brewers, Houston hit 262 with 37 homers and 117 RBIs. 

      "We are very happy with the addition of Tyler, because he gives the club added depth," Dodgers general manager Dan Evans said. "He gives (manager) Jim Tracy another weapon from the left side of the plate that can play a number of positions."

      Diggins, a 23-year-old right-hander, was a first-round draft pick two years ago and had a 6-10 record with a 3.63 ERA at Class A Vero Beach.

      Nance, a 24-year-old left-hander who was a 24th-round pick in the 1999 amateur draft, was 11-3 with a 4.17 ERA at Class AAA Las Vegas.

      "We have been looking for opportunities to acquire young talent to improve the future of the organization," said Brewers general manager Dean Taylor, whose team has the worst record in the NL. "In making this deal, we have acquired two young arms that are capable of helping our future major league pitching staffs."

      Milwaukee, the worst team in the National League at 34-67, purchased the contract of outfielder Izzy Alcantara to fill Houston's roster spot. Acantara hit .264 with 25 homers and 61 RBIs at Class AAA Indianapolis.

      Brewers lose ninth straight: Pete Munro pitched seven strong innings and the host Houston Astros sent Milwaukee to its ninth straight loss, beating the Brewers, 7-4.

      Munro (2-0) held the Brewers to two runs and two hits. He struck out a career-high seven and walked two. The Astros are 4-0 in games Munro has started since being called up from Class AAA on June 27.

      "He did a good job," Milwaukee manager Jerry Royster said of Munro. "It's hard to evaluate him when you're swinging the bats the way we are ... At one point, our two hardest-hit balls were both by pitchers."

      Jamey Wright (2-10) stumbled to 0-9 with a 7.75 ERA in 13 career starts against Houston. Wright gave up six runs in only three innings and fell to 0-4 with a 10.50 ERA against the Astros this season.

      The Brewers finished with four hits, including two-run homers by Matt Stairs and Robert Machado.