The Dodgers (40-44) opened their four-game set with the Astros (40-45) on Monday by getting 11 hits, but they stranded 10 runners in a 4-1 loss. They rebounded by getting 10 hits, including a solo homer by Jeff Kent in the 11th inning, to secure Tuesday's 7-6 win, and followed it up the next night with a 4-1 victory behind seven shutout innings from Hiroki Kuroda.

Los Angeles has scored 11 runs in its last two games after mustering only 14 in its previous seven. The Dodgers have scored 343 runs - the third-worst total in the NL.

"What I like about what we're doing right now is we're scoring in more than one inning and we're manufacturing stuff, doing little things," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "We're playing heads-up baseball. We need to do more of that, for our own confidence, that we can come to the ballpark with a good feeling, rather than just wondering."

Los Angeles has pulled within 1 1/2 games of first-place Arizona in the mediocre NL West.

Billingsley (7-7, 3.38 ERA), the Dodgers' leader in wins, hopes the offense can continue its production.

The right-hander is 3-0 with a 1.96 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 18 1-3 innings over his last three starts, despite getting only seven runs of support in that span. He's received six total runs of support in his seven losses.

Billingsley was outstanding again Saturday, allowing three hits and fanning seven in seven innings as the offense produced no hits in a 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels.

Billingsley is 1-2 with a 4.74 ERA in three starts against the Astros, but he's dropped his last two without much help from his teammates. He's given up nine runs and 12 hits with 11 strikeouts in 10 innings in those contests, while the Dodgers have managed only one run.

That trend against Houston continued on May 10 when he was reached for five runs and six hits in five innings in a 5-0 loss. However, he won his only start at Minute Maid Park on July 23, 2007, throwing a five-hitter in a 10-2 victory.

The Astros, who are 4-2 against the Dodgers, are hoping Brandon Backe (5-8, 5.12) can rebound from a shaky outing.

The right-hander gave up six runs - four in the third inning - and nine hits in 5 1-3 innings, but didn't factor in the decision of an 11-10 win over Boston on Saturday.

"As a starting pitcher, you want to do well, obviously, you want to have a quality start and not allow the other team to score, but in some games, you just have to pitch to the scoreboard," Backe told the Astros' official Web site.

Backe's only start against the Dodgers came on July 10, 2005, when he allowed five runs and eight hits in six innings while not getting the decision in a 6-5 win.

Carlos Lee, who went 2-for-4 with a solo homer Wednesday, has been on a tear of late, going 11-for-22 with two homers and six RBIs in the last five games. The left fielder is hitting .389 (14-for-36) with one homer and eight RBIs in his last nine games against the Dodgers, but he's only 1-for-9 off Billingsley in his career.