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Friday, Aug. 4 8:05pm ET
Houston fueled by Truby's power display | |||||
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GAME LOG
HOUSTON (AP) -- Chris Truby never expected to be in the big leagues this season, so Friday night was an extra thrill for him. Truby, called up June 16 after veteran third baseman Ken Caminiti was injured, hit two home runs to break out of a hitting slump and power the Houston Astros over the Montreal Expos 7-6 Friday night. "To hit two home runs in the major leagues is an amazing feeling," Truby said. "I think I've only hit two home runs in a game one other time in my entire life and that was a long time ago. "I'm not a home run hitter. I just got two pitches today that I was able to drive." Truby, in a 3-for-20 slide coming in, went 2-for-3, improving his average to .245. "This should give him a pretty big lift," manager Larry Dierker said. "He had struggled a lot lately and for him to come out of it with two homers tonight should help give him some confidence. "When you have as many young guys playing as we do, you're going to see some of them struggle until they get used to major league pitching. He showed tonight maybe he's got a little more power than we thought." Truby hit safely in 11 of his first 13 starts in June, rushing to a .306 average his first two weeks. But he had gone 0-for-21 through much of July and had been benched in several games. "When he first came up," Dierker said, "he was on a hot streak, but he's cooled off since then. Young guys can get frustrated when that happens. But he has been working hard and kept a good attitude." That made Friday's game all the more important for Truby. "I could use a night like tonight," he said. "I hadn't hit very well lately." It impressed Expos manager Felipe Alou. "I don't know what he hit that first time, but it was quite a hit," Alou said. Alou thought Expos starter Javier Vazquez pitched well for two innings. "Then I guess he put a couple of pitches up and they got to him," Alou said. Vazquez thought the two home runs in the third inning, one by Truby and a three-run homer by Daryle Ward, came off good pitches. "If I had them to do over, I'd pitch the same pitches," he said. "They were good pitches. They were just hit well." The home runs gave Houston a franchise-record 83 homers at home this season. The Astros, who moved from the spacious Astrodome to homer-friendly Enron Field this season, broke the record of 82 set in 1998 with 32 home games remaining this season. Houston starter Chris Holt left in the fourth inning after getting hit in the left cheek by a line drive off the bat of Peter Bergeron. Holt, who sustained a small cut on the cheek, left the field under his own power and was taken to a hospital for X-rays, which were negative. Holt was diagnosed with a bruised cheekbone. Holt allowed five runs and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings with three strikeouts. He left leading 5-4 but Wayne Franklin gave up an RBI single to Wilton Guerrero. Jason Green (1-0) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings for the win. Octavio Dotel got four outs for his fifth save. The Expos lost for the ninth time in 10 games. Julio Lugo led off the seventh against Steve Kline (1-4) with a flyball that right fielder Vladimir Guerrero ran the wrong way on, giving Lugo a triple. With one out, Lance Berkman singled to left to break a 6-6 tie. The Expos scored three runs in the first on a two-run single by Lee Stevens and a run-scoring single by Tomas de la Rosa. The Expos made it 4-0 in the third when Vladimir Guerrero tried to stretch a double to right center into a triple. Lugo's relay throw to third sailed into the dugout allowing Guerrero to score. Geoff Blum hit a leadoff homer in the fifth to give Montreal a 6-5 lead. Javier Vazquez allowed six runs and nine hits in six innings for Montreal. Game notesHouston 2B Craig Biggio, out for the season with torn ligaments in his left knee, will get a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews on Monday in Birmingham, Ala., on Monday. ... Jeff Bagwell was held out of the lineup Friday because Astros manager Larry Dierker felt Bagwell had appeared tired in the last few games of the recent road trip. It was the first time Bagwell and Biggio have both been out of the lineup since Sept. 15, 1998. ... The Expos activated OF Terry Jones from the DL and sent Michael Barrett to Triple-A Ottawa. ... Blum has hit safely in 15 of his last 19 games. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Montreal Clubhouse Houston Clubhouse RECAPS Boston 5 Kansas City 4
Houston 7
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