Houston, TX (My Sportsbook) - After being officially eliminated from the playoff race, the Houston Astros will begin playing out the string when they tangle with the Milwaukee Brewers this evening in the opener of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park.

Houston's 7-3 setback on Sunday to the National League Central champion St. Louis Cardinals ended any hopes of a postseason berth in 2002. It now trails the wild card-leading San Francisco Giants, who defeated the Brewers, 3-1, on Sunday, by eight games with only six remaining.

Mark Loretta hit a two-run homer and Jason Lane added a solo shot for Houston, which has dropped three of its last four, including two-of-three to the Cards over the weekend.

Kirk Saarloos allowed four runs on five hits in five innings for his fourth straight loss. He walked one and fanned four, while yielding a pair of homers.

Dave Mlicki gets the call this evening for the Astros. Mlicki will be making his first start since August 16, when he was roughed up for five runs on six hits over four innings in a loss to the Cincinnati Reds.

The righthander is taking the place of rookie Brad Lidge, who suffered a left intercostal strain last Wednesday in a spot start versus Milwaukee. Lidge was called on in that game to take the place of lefthander Carlos Hernandez, who has been bothered by a sore shoulder and may miss the remainder of the year.

Since being demoted to the bullpen, Mlicki has appeared in six games. During that time, he has surrendered a total of six runs on 12 hits over 8 2/3 frames to watch his earned run average rise from 5.28 to 5.38. This will be his first appearance since September 11, when he tossed one scoreless inning against the Colorado Rockies.

For his career, Mlicki is 0-1 versus the Brewers. The 34-year-old hurler has not faced Milwaukee this season.

Glendon Rusch counters for the Brew Crew. Rusch battled the Astros at Miller Park five days ago and was tagged with the loss after permitting three runs on four hits over seven innings. He walked four and struck out a pair.

The setback was the lefthander's first since August 18 and snapped his career- high, four-game winning streak. Still and all, Rusch has surrendered at least three runs in each of his last three starts. Since going 5-7 with a 4.92 ERA in the first half of the year, he is 5-7 with a 4.25 earned run average. This will be the 27-year-old hurler's 17th start of the season on the road, where he is 4-9 with a 4.74 ERA and three complete games.

Lifetime, Rusch is 2-3 versus Houston. In four outings against the Astros in 2002, he is 1-3 with a 3.60 earned run average.

Milwaukee has lost its last three after being swept at home in a three-game set by the Giants. Ryan Christenson finished 2-for-3 with the lone RBI for the Brewers, who continued their worst season ever by losing for the 101st time in 155 tries.

Luis Vizcaino suffered the loss for Milwaukee, which went 31-50 at Miller Park this season. It marked the first time in team history that the Brewers dropped 50 home games in a year.

As for Vizcaino, he was tagged with the setback after yielding a pair of runs on two hits in one inning. Ben Sheets started for the Brewers and gave up one run on three hits in eight frames. The righthander walked two and whiffed six.

The Brewers are a National League-worst 23-51 on the road in 2002, while the Astros bring a 45-33 home record into this contest. Houston leads the season series by an 8-7 margin, including four victories in six tries at home. It is 35-23 in this matchup since the start of the 1999 campaign.