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Williams gets first win as Astros edge Reds

May 10, 2007 - 4:50 AM CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Woody Williams took matters into his own hands to make sure he picked up his first win of the season.

Williams drove in the go-ahead run and was solid on the mound to lead the Houston Astros to a 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

A Houston native, Williams (1-5) signed a two-year, $12.5 million deal with the Astros in the offseason, but it had not gone as planned.

"It's nice. I'm not going to lie to you," said Williams with the game ball tucked in his locker. "I'm fortunate we came out on top."

The righthander was winless in his first seven starts, the longest he has gone without a win since 2004. He broke the drought by allowing two runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings and by picking up his first RBI of the season.

"He struggled the first couple innings but he changed his game as he went along," Houston manager Phil Garner said.

With the game tied, 2-2, in the fourth, Williams lofted a single to right-center field to score Adam Everett.

"If the pitcher can't take care of themselves, we can't worry about them," Berkman quipped.

Williams and the Astros bullpen made the lead stand. Brad Lidge retired all four batters he faced and Dan Wheeler worked around a walk in the ninth to earn his eighth save.

With Wednesday's victory, the Astros improved to 7-1 against the Reds this season, including 5-0 at Great American Ball Park.

Three unearned runs those guys right now are finding ways to win games," Cincinnati manager Jerry Narron said. "We've got to start finding ways to win games. Right now, it seems like we're finding ways to lose games.

"I'll take a win any way we can get them," Garner said.

The 40-year-old Williams not only recorded his first win of the season but also his first decision at Great American Ball Park. Williams was 0-0 with a 7.03 ERA in 32 innings in five starts entering Wednesday's game.

The Reds, who have lost seven of eight, never led. Adam Dunn tied the game with a two-run home run, his 10th of the season, in the third.

Lance Berkman homered for the third consecutive game - a two run shot in the third - to give Houston a 2-0 lead.

Berkman struck out with Craig Biggio on second base in the first inning.

"After he punched me out with a runner in scoring position I was thinking, "here we go again,"" Berkman said.

Berkman must love seeing the Reds on the schedule, especially a game played here. He has 15 homers at Great American Ball Park, the most by any opponent, and he has 38 career homers and 107 RBI vs. Cincinnati.

"It's a good place to hit," Berkman said. "It is a beautiful ballpark."

Matt Belisle (3-2) was a tough-luck loser after he allowed three runs - none earned - and six hits in seven innings. He struck out a career-high seven but was undermined by some shoddy defense.

"He likes this ballpark and that's his swing," Belisle said. "I've got to make better pitches than that. I wanted it down, and it slid up a little bit.

Reds third baseman Edwin Encarnacion committed a pair of throwing errors that led to all three Astros runs.

His first error with two outs in the third allowed Morgan Ensberg to reach and extended the inning long enough for Berkman to strike again.

"This is an unforgiving league, but that tide rolls both ways," Belisle said. "We'll get the situation going our way one of these days."

Encarnacion's second error came with two outs in the fourth allowed Everett to reach safely. Williams singled to center after Humberto Quintero was walked intentionally.

"The first play, I had a lot of time. It was a routine play, Encarnacion said. "I don't know how I threw the ball like that. The other play, I didn't think I had it, and I tried not to bounce it."