Houston Astros

Lance Berkman splashed his major league-leading 15th home run into McCovey Cove, breaking a ninth-inning tie and helping the Houston Astros rally past the San Francisco Giants 8-7 last night. Houston came back from a 6-0 deficit to take three of four from the Giants, its first series win at San Francisco since a three-game sweep in September 2001. More »

Matt Cain provided his own insurance run and limited Lance Berkman to only a base hit. Cain hit a solo home run and earned his first victory in three starts, and the San Francisco Giants snapped the Houston Astros' four-game winning streak 4-2 on Tuesday night. It was the fourth career homer and second this season for Cain (2-3). More »

For Barry Zito, a no-decision became a positive thing _ a sign of progress. Lance Berkman is too much for any pitcher to handle right now. Hunter Pence hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the seventh, Berkman had a tying two-run homer off Zito and the surging Houston Astros beat the San Francisco Giants 7-3 on Monday night for their fourth straight victory. More »

Hiroki Kuroda took a no-hitter into the seventh inning for the Los Angeles Dodgers before the Houston Astros broke out for seven hits and six runs in the eighth inning to pull out an 8-5 victory today. Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence had RBI singles against reliever Jonathan Broxton (1-1), as the Astros won for the eighth time in nine games. More »

Chris Sampson pitched three-hit ball over seven innings, Darin Erstad and Miguel Tejada each drove in two runs and the Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0 last night. Sampson (2-3) struck out three and walked one in his Dodger Stadium debut, matching his longest outing of the season. The right-hander had given up 18 earned runs in 15 1/3 innings over his previous four starts. More »

Willie Harris and Rob Mackowiak homered to help the Washington Nationals beat Houston 8-3 last night and end the Astros' five-game winning streak. John Lannan (3-3) allowed seven hits in six innings and the Nationals snapped Houston's eight-game winning streak at Minute Maid Park. The Astros averaged 7.3 runs and 11.5 hits in their previous eight home games. More »

Carlos Lee drove in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Houston Astros to a 4-3 win over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night. Lee's single, that flew just over the head of Lastings Milledge, scored Kaz Matsui and gave Houston its fifth straight victory. Matsui walked and stole second in the ninth before Joel Hanrahan (0-2) intentionally walked Lance Berkman. More »

Carlos Lee had the go-ahead two-run double in the eighth inning and Lance Berkman had a career-high five hits to lead the Houston Astros to a 6-5 win over the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night. Miguel Tejada and Berkman both singled in the eighth before Lee's hit to right field. Austin Kearns dived for the ball, but it bounced just in front of him. More »

Hunter Pence hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 12th to lead the Houston Astros to an 8-6 win over the Milwaukee Brewers yesterday. Pence's home run to left field scored Lance Berkman and completed Houston's comeback for its third straight win. The Astros trailed by as many as four. Mitch Stetter (1-1) gave up Pence's homer, his fourth of the season. More »

Pitcher Brandon Backe and Michael Bourn hit back-to-back home runs in a five-run fifth inning and the Houston Astros beat the Milwaukee Brewers 6-2 last night. It was the second night in a row the Astros have hit consecutive home runs, after they hit three straight in the series opener. Backe (2-3) pitched 5 2/3 solid innings for his first win since April 12. More »

Miguel Tejada, Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee hit consecutive home runs in a four-run sixth inning to propel Houston to a 7-4 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday. Hunter Pence added a pair of home runs for Houston, one in the fifth inning and another in the eighth, and Roy Oswalt (3-3) reached .500 after a shaky start. More »

Pitcher Micah Owings' pinch-hit homer tied the game in the sixth and the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied from four runs down to beat the Houston Astros 8-7 on Wednesday. Owings, 4-0 as a starter and arguably the best-hitting pitcher in the game, hit the first pitch of the game from reliever Dave Borkowski to the opposite field seats. More »

Geoff Blum doubled in three runs and the Houston Astros handed the Arizona Diamondbacks only their third home loss in 13 games his season, 6-4 on Tuesday night. Hard-throwing Max Scherzer, Arizona's 2006 first-round draft pick out of the University of Missouri, made an impressive major league debut, to say the least, in relief of Diamondbacks starter Edgar Gonzalez. More »

Dan Haren pitched into the eighth inning and hit an RBI double, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks past the Houston Astros 5-3 on Monday night. Haren (4-1) scattered five hits over a season-high 7 2-3 innings and Mark Reynolds hit a two-run double for the Diamondbacks, who improved their major league-leading record to 19-7. More »

Troy Glaus hit his first home run with St. Louis and Albert Pujols also connected to lead the Cardinals to a 5-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Sunday. Glaus, who was acquired in an offseason trade that sent Scott Rolen to Toronto, had entered the game leading the majors with 15 RBIs without a single home run. More »

Skip Schumaker singled to left to score pinch-runner Cesar Izturis in the bottom of the ninth inning today, giving the St. Louis Cardinals a 4-3 victory that snapped the Houston Astros' six-game winning streak. Schumaker singled off Wesley Wright, who relieved Dave Borkowski (0-1) after Borkowski walked leadoff batter Brian Barton to start the ninth. After Barton was forced by Adam Wainright, Brendan Ryan singled to chase Borkowski. More »

Carlos Lee's home run capped a three-run rally off Jason Isringhausen in the ninth inning, helping the Houston Astros beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 on Friday night for their sixth straight victory. Miguel Tejada had an RBI triple and Lance Berkman's sacrifice fly for the second out tied it before Lee hammered a first-pitch fastball well over the left-field wall. More »

Lance Berkman hit his 18th homer at Great American Ball Park—the most by any visiting player—and drove in three runs Thursday, leading the Houston Astros to their fifth straight win, 5-3 over the Cincinnati Reds. Berkman had a two-run homer and a run-scoring double off rookie Johnny Cueto (1-2), whose 96 mph fastball wasn't enough to slow the Astros' surging offense or get the Reds out of their slump.  More »

Kazuo Matsui sparked Houston's seven-run rally with a two-run single, and the Astros coasted to their fourth straight victory Wednesday night, 9-3 over the unsettled Cincinnati Reds. Houston has won four in a row for the first time since last May, getting 36 runs out of a lineup producing top-to-bottom. More »

Kaz Matsui's two-run single in the eighth inning lifted the Houston Astros to an 11-7 win over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday night. Cy Young winner Jake Peavy allowed four earned runs, matching the total for his four previous starts combined. The Padres ace allowed seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts in six innings. More »