LV’s Houston struggling in L.A.

Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2002 | 9:39 a.m.

LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS

LOS ANGELES -- This is a difficult time for former Valley High standout Tyler Houston, who left the last-place doldrums of the Milwaukee Brewers via a July trade to play for a contender in Los Angeles, but Houston's brief stint with the Dodgers hasn't been easy.

Houston was in the starting lineup Sunday afternoon against the Houston Astros because of his previous success against Astros starter Roy Oswalt, but Houston had not started since Aug. 28 and is struggling to adjust to life as a part-time player.

Entering Sunday's game, Houston had 53 at-bats in 26 games with the Dodgers. He went 1 for 3 against the Astros to raise his batting average to .214 since the trade.

"Not to state the obvious, but when you ask that question, you pretty much know it's tough," Houston said. "It's my first start in 11 days, and it's against one of the hottest pitchers in the game right now. It's hard. All you can do is try to get it done out there.

"I did a lot of hitting, a lot of work in the cage, but that only does so much. It's not possible to simulate hitting Roy Oswalt's curveball or fastball. I just go up there and battle and try to do the best I can with my chances."

Those chances have been few and far between because of the resurgence of third baseman Adrian Beltre. The Dodgers acquired Houston as a way to challenge Beltre and it worked, as Beltre has been one of the club's hottest hitters. However, that has limited Houston's playing time.