Astros 6 - 3 Giants
Final
  for this game

Martinez's slam helps Astros power past Giants

Jun 15, 2012 - 1:49 AM

Video

San Francisco, CA (Sports Network) - One day after Matt Cain threw the 22nd perfect game in major league history, the Houston Astros made sure it didn't happen again, using a pair of long balls to take a 6-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants in the finale of a three-game set at AT&T Park.

J.D. Martinez clobbered a grand slam and Matt Downs added a solo shot for the Astros, who had lost three of their last four entering play on Thursday. Justin Maxwell contributed an RBI single and Jose Altuve added two hits in the victory.

"When you're down 0-2 in the series, you have to get out of here with a win," Downs said. "Cain obviously had the stuff last night and threw unbelievable. We had to bounce back today and put a couple runs on the board early."

Wandy Rodriguez (6-4) allowed three runs on six hits and two walks while fanning three in six innings of work to get the win. Brett Myers picked up his 16th save of the season with a clean ninth inning.

Brandon Belt crushed a two-run homer and Hector Sanchez added a sacrifice fly for the Giants, who had won five of their last seven coming in.

"It feels good to be comfortable at the plate," Belt said. "I've been searching for my swing pretty much all season and to get a few games where I feel pretty good, it feels great and I'm going to try to keep it going."

Barry Zito (5-4) surrendered five runs on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts over five innings. to absorb the loss.

Houston took a 1-0 lead on Downs' solo shot in the second and added more in the third.

Zito got himself into trouble by issuing three straight one-out walks. The former Cy Young Award winner compounded his problems by serving up a fastball over the heart of the plate to Martinez, who crushed it roughly six rows back in left field to extend the Astros' lead to 5-0.

Sanchez ripped a two-out single in the San Francisco fourth, and Belt followed by pulverizing a hanging curveball from Rodriguez high over the wall in right and into McCovey Cove to pull the Giants within three.

Angel Pagan singled to start the Giants' sixth and came around to score on Sanchez's sacrifice fly two batters later to cut the deficit to 5-3.

Maxwell's RBI single in the eighth accounted for the final margin.

Game Notes

Despite the loss, the Giants have gone 9-4 in June...Seven of Zito's 13 starts this season have been quality starts. The Giants fell to 7-6 in games started by Zito...Houston went 2-for-6 with runners in scoring position and stranded four, while San Francisco finished 0-for-4 with men in scoring position and left four on base.






Related News