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Seven-run fourth lifts Astros past Pirates

Sep 16, 2007 - 3:21 AM By Ted Dunnam PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

HOUSTON (Ticker) -- Carlos Lee homered and drove in three runs during a seven-run fourth inning to lead the Houston Astros to a 9-7 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night.

Ty Wigginton homered twice - a two-run blast in the fourth inning and a solo shot in the seventh - for the Astros, who snapped a three-game slide.

"Hitting is contagious," Lee said. "You get a walk here and a base hit there and things start rolling.

"This is what this team is capable of doing."

After the Pirates jumped to a 5-0 lead with a run in the second and four more in the fourth, Houston responded in the fourth.

Lee led off the frame with his 29th homer off Pittsburgh starter Matt Morris (9-10) and rookie Hunter Pence followed with a single. Wigginton came to the plate two batters later and contributed to Morris' misery, blasting a two-run shot to cut the deficit to 5-3.

J.R. Towles followed with a single and pitcher Juan Gutierrez reached on a fielder's choice before Josh Anderson singled to make it a one-run game. Craig Biggio loaded the bases with a single and Morris hit Lance Berkman to force in the tying run.

Salomon Torres relieved Morris and allowed a two-run single to Lee boost his RBI total to 109 on the season and give the Astros a 7-5 cushion.

Morris was charged with seven runs and nine hits while walking two and not recording a strikeout in 3 1/3 innings - marking the first time since joining the Pirates that he failed to last at least five innings.

"I don't know what my record is here coming into this game," Morris said. "But when you are up 5-0, your job is to go out there and try to get them to hit some pitches and take your team deep into the game. I was not able to do that tonight, and I am disappointed."

Morris did not blame his ineffectiveness on his pitching hand, which was injured by a line drive off the bat of Pence in the first inning.

"I was hit on the back of the hand, and I just got done with X-rays. They were negative," Morris said. "I was going off adrenaline in the game, and I think they wanted to ice it down during the game, but I just wanted to keep it going.

"It just didn't work out tonight."

Ronny Paulino and Jack Wilson hit consecutive home runs in the second inning to stake Pittsburgh to a 5-0 lead. Wilson completed his first multi-homer game in the eighth.

"It doesn't matter," Wilson said about his two-homer effort. "It's nice to try to get back in the game at that point. That is the only good thing that I can take from it right now.

"It was nice to get within two right there (9-7 in the eighth). But if you don't win, it's just a stat really."

Houston scored a single run in the fifth and Wigginton's solo blast in the seventh provided some insurance.

"First and foremost, you have to point toward the bullpen," Wigginton said. "They all did a great job and gave us a chance to get back in it."

Gutierrez (1-1) pitched two scoreless innings, allowing a walk and no hits, to pick up the win in relief of starter Wandy Rodriguez.

The Astros used seven pitchers in the contest, with Brad Lidge getting the final three outs to record his 15th save of the season.

"I loved what I saw in the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh from the bullpen," Houston interim manager Cecil Cooper said. "Those guys had a lot of electric stuff.

"Offensively, when you get a little fire from the younger guys, it carries over to the other guys."