Sampson (2-3) gave up just three hits and one walk, while striking out three for the Astros, who have won seven of eight.

Michael Bourn went 2-for-5 and stole his 17th base of the season, while Darin Erstad doubled and had two RBI. Miguel Tejada also finished with two runs batted in.

Chad Billingsley (2-5) was wild early and threw just five innings, in which he allowed five runs -- four earned -- on six hits and a pair of walks. Matt Kemp, James Loney, and Chin-Lung Hu had the hits for the Dodgers, who have lost three in a row and scored two runs in the span.

Houston jumped out to an early lead, thanks to a few mistakes from Billingsley in the first inning. Kaz Matsui hit a one-out single, and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Billingsley then hit Tejada with a pitch, and threw another one wild to let the runners get into scoring position.

A walk to Berkman loaded the bases, and Carlos Lee smacked a sacrifice fly to center to plate one run. But Erstad's hit to center fell for a double to clear the bases, and give the Astros a 3-0 lead.

In the second, Houston had the bases loaded again. J.R. Towles led off by reaching on Blake DeWitt's error, and later, Bourn singled and Matsui walked. A Tejada single scored two for a quick 5-0 lead, but a large enough lead to last for the win.

From that point, Sampson got the Dodgers out in order in the fourth and seventh innings, and worked out of jams in the rest. An error on Tejada in the fifth put runners on second and third with no outs, but Sampson got three straight ground outs to keep Los Angeles scoreless.

Then, in the sixth, Kemp hit a one-out single, but Sampson induced a double play from Kent to end the threat. Wesley Wright pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Oscar Villarreal threw a perfect ninth to preserve the shutout.

Game Notes

Berkman's double was his 15th of the season...Houston will go for the sweep Sunday, sending Shawn Chacon (0-0) to the mound against Los Angeles' Hideki Kuroda (1-2).