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Friday, Aug. 11 7:35pm ET
Berkman's four RBI enough for Astros | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Lance Berkman turned his night and the game around after he turned around in the batter's box. The switch-hitting Berkman had four RBI, including a three-run double in a five-run ninth inning, as the Houston Astros beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-2 Friday night. "That's what they pay us to do," said Berkman, who had doubles in the eighth and ninth innings while batting left-handed after going 0-for-2 right-handed off starter Bruce Chen. "Chen was tough. We just had to hang around and hang around." Houston scored once in the eighth and five times in the ninth to win the matchup between the teams with the two worst records in the majors. Marc Valdes (3-4) pitched two shutout innings. He struck out one, walked one and didn't allow a hit. Octavio Dotel pitched a scoreless ninth. "Valdes has been a real important part of our bullpen," Houston manager Larry Dierker said. "He hasn't been unhittable or tremendously consistent, but he's been good more often than not." Jeff Bagwell was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give Houston a 3-2 lead with no outs in the ninth. Daryle Ward led off the inning with a single off Vincente Padilla, and was removed for pinch-runner Glen Barker. After Julio Lugo beat out an infield single, Tim Bogar reached safely on an error by Padilla to load the bases. Bagwell was hit on the left shoulder on a 3-2 pitch to force in Barker, and Padilla left the game with cramping in his left side. "You preach to every pitcher to just get an out," Phillies manager Terry Francona said about Padilla's error on Bogar's sacrifice bunt. "He just tried to do something before he had the ball." Wayne Gomes entered the game and got two outs before allowing Berkman's bases-clearing double. Padilla (2-3) allowed four runs, all unearned. He gave up a game-tying double to Berkman in the eighth after Chen left the game with a runner on first. Chen allowed two runs and six hits in 7 1-3 innings. He walked four and struck out two. The 23-year-old left-hander is 2-1 with a 3.74 ERA since coming to the Phillies from Atlanta in a trade for Andy Ashby on July 12. "I had a good fastball and all three pitches were working," Chen said. "I want to help the team win. It was hard seeing the game turn into a tie." Tomas Perez gave Philadelphia a 2-1 lead with an RBI groundout in the sixth. Pat Burrell led off the inning with a walk, moved to third on a double by Kevin Jordan and scored on Perez's grounder to second. Scott Elarton allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings. He struck out a season-high nine and walked three. Elarton, who had won eight of his previous nine starts, has allowed three earned runs or less in 10 straight starts and is 8-1 in that span. "I felt terrible out of the wind-up," Elarton said. "Thank goodness, I felt good out of the stretch." The Phillies were 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position, and left nine runners on base. Jordan, subbing for the injured Scott Rolen, gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead in the fourth with his third homer -- a liner just inside the left-field foul pole. Houston tied it in the sixth on Alou's 18th homer -- a bolt to left-center. Before Alou's homer, Bagwell, who led off the inning with a double, was thrown out at third on a one-hop strike by Doug Glanville while trying to advance on a fly out to center. The Phillies stranded five runners in the first three innings, and left the bases loaded in the third. Mike Lieberthal struck out and Travis Lee bounced out to end that inning. Game notesGlanville's 11-game hitting streak ended after an 0-for-5 night. ... Chen's single in the third was his first hit of the season after going 0-for-13. It was his second career hit, and first since a single against Arizona on Sept. 20, 1998. ... Eusebio extended his hitting streak to 15 games with the double in the fifth. ... Alou robbed Lee of at least an RBI single with a diving catch on a liner in the seventh. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Houston Clubhouse Philadelphia Clubhouse RECAPS Chi. White Sox 6 Tampa Bay 5
Houston 7
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