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Berkman's homer helps Astros extend streak

Aug 14, 2008 - 10:37 PM HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Lance Berkman snapped a tie with a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning Thursday as the Houston Astros rallied for a 7-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants to extend their season-high winning streak to eight games.

Berkman's homer, which gave the Astros a 6-4 lead, enabled Houston to sweep consecutive four-game series for the first time in franchise history. Houston erased a 4-3 deficit in the seventh, then scored three runs in the eighth.

The Astros swept the Giants without slugger Carlos Lee, who underwent season-ending surgery to repair his broken left little finger on Monday. Since July 23, Houston is a major league-best 16-4.

After Miguel Tejada led off the eighth with a single off Keiichi Yabu (3-5), San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy brought in lefthander Alex Hinshaw to face Berkman and make him hit from the right side.

The move backfired, as Berkman sent an 0-1 offering into the seats in left field to give the Astros their first lead of the game.

"It's unexplainable," Berkman said. "This is a fairly remarkable streak. When the guys are all playing well like this, you have this good feeling that you can always come back. We definitely feel like we're going to win when it's close in the seventh."

Bochy said Hinshaw made a mistake by throwing a pitch down the middle of the plate to Berkman. Hinshaw agreed.

"Berkman is one of the best hitters in the National League," Hinshaw said. "His numbers speak for themselves. When I got him out two nights ago, I went away from him and with fastballs in. Today, I went away from him, but I figured I would try to go in on him again, and he was sitting on it. I just caught too much of the plate, and he hit it pretty good."

Geoff Blum followed with a double to left-center, and three batters later, Humberto Quintero drove him home with an RBI single up the middle.

LaTroy Hawkins (1-0) got the win after striking out the only batter he faced in the eighth. Jose Valverde pitched the ninth for his 30th save of the season.

"That's the main thing," Astros manager Cecil Cooper said. "When we've won, we've always pitched well. When you're playing like we're playing, you start to feel a little invincible. Every day it seems like a different guy steps up,"

Five Houston relievers combined for 3 2/3 hitless innings in relief of starter Brian Moehler, who allowed four runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings.

"I couldn't locate my fastball today," Moehler said. "But we hung in there and battled back. It's fun to be on a streak like this. We're just going to enjoy it as long as we can."

Fred Lewis, who replaced Aaron Rowand in center after Rowand left after the top of the second with tightness in his lower back, gave the Giants a 4-3 in the sixth with a leadoff home run.

Bochy said Rowand, who is listed as day-to-day, has a nerve irritation on his right and will be re-evaluated Friday. Bochy thought the injury occurred during Rowand's only at-bat in the first inning.

Houston, which erased early deficits of 2-0 and 3-1, tied it in the seventh on Darin Erstad RBI single, scoring Newhan, who led off with a single and took second on a passed ball.

San Francisco starter Kevin Correia yielded four runs - three earned - and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings.

The Giants bullpen lost two games during the four game series in Houston, and San Francisco fell to 3-7 in the last 10 road games.

"It wasn't a good series for the bullpen," Bochy said. "We couldn't get anyone hot out there that is what it comes down to. We got the lead. We did what we wanted to do out there. That's what it all comes down to, the bullpen."