HOUSTON -- Too often during this season’s first half, the Astros’ so-called aggressive base-running mindset has translated into the category of just plain stupidity.

First-year manager Cecil Cooper pledged to instill a more run-run approach to Houston’s 2008 offense. That’s not quite the same as run and fall asleep. Or run thoughtlessly.

Another sickening basepath blunder reared its ugly head Wednesday. Los Angeles welcomed it and utilized the masterful mound work of righthander Hiroki Kuroda for a 4-1 victory.

“We’re not in a position to be giving up runs,” a long-time Houston-based journalist said of the Astros. “It’s not like this happens once in a awhile with this team. It happens almost once a game.”

The Astros’ 2008 fall-asleep tactic arrived at a perfect time for the Dodgers with one out in the home half of the fifth. Trailing 4-0, Houston’s David Newhan carelessly took a few steps off second base. It marked only the second moment that an Astros runner reached scoring position.

Dodgers pitcher Kuroda wheeled and fired a strike to shortstop Luis Maza. Second base ump Gary Cederstrom alertly called Newhan out… Yippee… it hardly even mattered that the batter (pinch-runner Darin Erstad) sliced an opposite-field double to left field just seconds later.

When Erstad chased J.R. Towles to third base with that double, many of Minute Maid Park’s 34,058 faithful howled their disgust and hurled their insults in the direction of third base coach Ed Romero for stopping Towles. Many Astros fans had to be thoroughly depressed by Houston’s ever-increasing flawed means of advancing from one station to the next.

With their base-running mistake heavily accented, the Astros managed six hits and looked the part of a lackluster club with a very ordinary 40-45 record. Newhan did not peak his head near his clubhouse stall for quite awhile after the game. Very little needed to be uttered about it but Cooper had a few thoughts on the moment afterwards.

“That was huge for them,” the Astros manager lamented. “Even the squeeze play they made (for a 3-1 lead in the fourth) was huge, too. They made the plays and we didn’t. Sure I do (wanting his team to be aggressive on the bases) but that’s not a place where you want to (run) when you’re down four (runs).”

Kuroda spinned a five-hit shutout over seven innings, allowing one base on balls and ripping through the Astros batting order with a mean 94 mile-an-hour cut fastball. Geoff Blum tipped his hat to the Dodgers starter after his 0-for-4 outing at third base.

“He (Kuroda) stuck it up our butt the last time in LA and again tonight,” Blum said. “He was cutting the ball and doing a great job. I don’t think we were panicking but he was just making his pitches.”

One writer was quick to point out to the Houston skipper, though, that the Astros made 11 outs in at-bats with two pitches or less. When hitters work deeper into the count, at least it forces the opposing pitcher to throw more pitches.

“We preach that’s what we need to do – go deeper in the counts,” Cooper said.

Making his second start since his recent promotion, Houston righthander Runelvys Hernandez (0-2) said he made two mistakes to Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent. Young Astros reliever Wesley Wright made one to Kent in the 11th inning, costing the Astros the game on Tuesday night. Each of those three pitches wound up covering too much of the plate. Kent lashed a first-inning, run-scoring double to left and duplicated it in the third.

Those proved to be two of only six hits off the big Astros starter.