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Lee sparks four-run 10th as Astros top Reds

Aug 9, 2008 - 3:46 AM CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Carlos Lee's nickname is "El Caballo," which means "The Horse" in Spanish.

Lee lived up to that nickname on Friday as he homered and drilled a two-run double in a four-run 10th inning, carrying the Houston Astros to a 9-5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.

Kaz Matsui and Humberto Quintero homered for Houston, which has won seven straight over Cincinnati at the Great American Ball Park.

"The last couple of months, I don't think there has been a better player in baseball," Astros manager Cecil Cooper said of Lee. "Offensively and defensively he played just outstanding."

"When I get people on base, I'm not trying to do too much," said Lee, who leads the National League with 100 RBI. "I take the best approach that I can, and take what the game gives me."

Lee, who homered off starter Johnny Cueto in the first inning, drilled a shot into the gap in right-center field off Francisco Cordero (4-4) that eluded a diving Corey Patterson, plating Miguel Tejada and Lance Berkman for a 7-5 lead. Lee finished 4-for-5 with three runs scored.

"I knew I hit it well, but I saw him dive for the ball and said, 'Noooo,"' said Lee, who tied his season high with four hits and extended his hitting streak to eight games. "When things are going your way, they fall."

Patterson, who robbed Quintero of an extra-base hit in the fifth, said he gave it his all.

"It might've been tailing away a little bit. It was close. That's all I had," Patterson said. "There was nothing else left in the tank. I was at full speed."

Hunter Pence capped the late outburst with a two-run homer to left. Chris Sampson (6-4) allowed one run and two hits in three innings to pick up the win.

Houston had taken a 5-4 lead in the seventh as Quintero belted a two-run homer to center field. But Cincinnati tied it on a sacrifice fly by Jeff Keppinger in the bottom of the frame.

"Tonight, he only made one bad pitch and it ended up being a sac fly, other than that he pitched pretty well," Cooper said of Sampson.

Matusi led off the game with a homer off Cueto and Lee added a solo blast to put Houston up, 2-0. However, Cincinnati took a 4-2 lead in the third as Keppinger tied the game with a two-run double to center field and Brandon Phillips launched a two-out, two-run blast to right - his 17th.

The Astros drew within one in the fifth as Lee singled and scored on a two-out base hit to left by Michael Bourn. Quintero tied it two frames later with his first home run.

Cueto allowed three runs and nine hits in five innings. Counterpart Randy Wolf yielded four runs and seven hits in frames.