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HOUSTON — It was pretty much a sure thing that Houston pitcher Roy Oswalt would walk out of traction or have himself wheeled out of ICU to face the Cincinnati Reds.

Oswalt came off the disabled list Monday (hip adductor strain), knowing that the Reds turn to silly putty and mushy oatmeal when they see the name Oswalt.

Before Monday in Minute Maid Park, Oswalt was 19-1 for his career against the Reds and he could send his second-born to the mound and the Reds would melt.

Of course, Oswalt is 20-1 against the Reds now, even though he wasn't very good, even though Adam Dunn hit a grand slam.

Oswalt still won, a 5-4 Houston victory that enabled the Astros to move past the Reds into fourth place in the National League Central and enabled the last place Pittsburgh Pirates to creep to within a half game of the Reds.

Oswalt gave up four runs and seven hits in five innings and the Houston bullpen cleaned it up from there — no muss, no fuss, just a little feather-dusting.

Reds starter Johnny Cueto needed 23 pitches to get his first out, never the portent of a good start and when that first out was recorded it was Houston 3, Cincinnati 0.

Oswalt shut the Reds out for two innings, extending Cincinnati's scoreless innings streak to 16 straight.

An infield hit by Jay Bruce, a solid single by Ken Griffey Jr. that extended his hitting streak to 11 games (every game since the All-Star break) and a walk to Brandon Phillips filled the bases.

Dunn took Oswalt's first pitch to left center over the yellow line for a grand slam, Dunn's ninth career and second this year and his 30th home run this season.

That gave the Reds a 4-3 lead, but only until the Astros came to bat in the bottom of the third. Lance Berkman doubled and Geoff Blum crushed a home run to push Houston back in front, 5-4.

Said Oswalt, "The only bad pitch I made was the one to Dunn. I got angry with myself after that and pitched pretty good in the fourth and fifth. I was surprised with the command I had of my curve and fastball."

Why should he be? It was his Patsy Reds.

And it stayed 5-4 as the Reds managed a miniscule two infield singles over the last six innings to lose for the fourth straight time.

"Two little bleeders for hits (after Dunn's homer)," said manager Dusty Baker. "I've got a headache."

Told that no matter how good or how bad he is, Oswalt finds a way to beat the Reds, Baker said, "Yeah, he found a way tonight. Been a long time since I saw a pitcher leave after five innings with a one-run lead and still win the game."

The Reds had something going against Oswalt in the second when Brandon Phillips doubled and took third on Dunn's single — two on and no outs.

But Oswalt, who had only four strikeouts, got three of them in a row at that point, whiffing Edwin Encarnacion, Joey Votto and Paul Bako.

"We knew with Oswalt coming off the disabled list that he would be on a limited pitch count (75) and we got those two runners on in the second," said Baker. "Then he struck out the side."

Cueto, as per usual, was gone early — not because he was knocked out but because he knocked himself out by needing 110 pitches for six innings.

"Thirty pitches in the first inning and that's a lot of pitches," said Baker. "He made two mistakes — an 0-and-2 pitch to Kazuo Matsui, the leadoff hitter, that got them started in the first, and a change-up to Blum that he hit out (two-run homer in the third)."

The Reds finished with eight hits, two each by Dunn and Phillips, plus a single by Griffey, giving him at least one hit in all 11 games since the All-Star break, during which the Reds are 4-7.