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Astros rout Pirates in series finale

Sep 16, 2007 - 10:04 PM By Andrew Ferraro PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

HOUSTON (Ticker) -- There were several heroes for the Houston Astros in their 15-3 drubbing of the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday at Minute Maid Park.

Rookie Josh Anderson had a career-high five hits, three runs batted in and two runs scored. Ty Wigginton had three hits, a homer and was just a triple shy of his first career cycle.

Then there was Brandon Backe.

Making just his third start after having surgery a year ago to repair the ulnar collateral ligament on his right elbow, Backe (1-1) pitched six strong innings, went 2-for-3 at the plate and scored a pair of runs while picking up his first win in 2007.

"Backe really pitched well for us today," said Astros manager Cecil Cooper. "He kept the ball down and had a little life on his fastball. He threw his breaking ball well and for strikes.

"He is definitely a guy that can help us out in 2008."

The Astros (65-84) have won back to back games after losing 10 of 12 overall and won their first series since taking two out of three against the St. Louis Cardinals at home Aug. 28-30.

Anderson was the first Astros rookie to reach base six times in a game since Joe Morgan did it in 1965. Anderson did it in nine innings Sunday, but it took Morgan 12 innings against the Milwaukee Braves to accomplish the feat.

"I am a little bit surprised," Anderson said. "I had a six-hit game in A-ball and another five hit game somewhere else in the minors. It was just one of those games where you feel locked in and you can see the ball really well."

The Astros hammered Pirates starter Paul Maholm (10-15) for 10 runs in less than three innings, scoring five runs in the first inning to break things open.

Before Sunday, Maholm was 2-0 against Houston in 2007 and had allowed just two earned runs against the Astros in 15-plus innings of work. He was 3-0 with a 3.00 earned run average in his previous four starts before the Astros pounded out a season high 22 hits, including 11 off Maholm alone.

"I felt good, but for some reason, I threw everything belt high and this is the wrong park to try that one in," Maholm said. "It's my job to get the balls down and I felt good going into the game. But today, especially when I would try to throw a sinker, it would find a spot for the hitters.

"That, and I could not throw my change up for strikes."

Added Pirates Manager Jim Tracy, "Paulie left a lot of balls in the middle of the plate. I just don't know what would have happened if he could have gotten through that first inning. That at-bat to Ransom in the first, I thought, was huge. There were two on and two out and that was the big one today. He gets through that one and who knows what he does the rest of the day."

Anderson drove in Houston's first run of the game with a double after Chris Burke led off the game with a single and then stole second. Mark Loretta hit an RBI single and after Wigginton doubled, Cody Ransom hit a three-run shot, his first major league homer since Aug. 14, 2004.

"(Anderson) is an exciting young player," Cooper said. "Hopefully, he will get the chance to continue. It's pretty hard to bench a guy after he gets give hits. He'll definitely be in the lineup tomorrow."

The Astros had another five-run inning in the third when they sent 11 men to the plate. They scored the five runs without an extra base hit while Burke and Carlos Lee had two RBI each in the inning.

The Pirates (66-83) hit three solo homers in the game, including Carlos Maldonado's first career homer, a 275-foot shot to left off Mark McLemore in the seventh.

Houston's Chris Burke added a two-run shot in the eighth, his sixth homer of the season, to close out the scoring.