From Worst of Times to Best for Bichette

In a span of two days, Dante Bichette went from possibly the worst game of his career to highlight-reel euphoria.

Bichette, atoning for his failures in clutch-hitting situations in recent games, hit a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth, lifting the Colorado Rockies over the Houston Astros, 7-5, Sunday at Denver.

Bichette’s blast off Doug Henry (3-2) helped the Rockies maintain their home mastery over the Astros, who are 6-21 in Denver.

In Friday’s 7-6 loss to Houston, Bichette came to bat with the bases loaded in the eighth and ninth innings, popping out in the eighth and grounding into a game-ending fielder’s choice in the ninth.

“That might have been the most difficult game I have ever played,” Bichette said. “Two games later, I have one of my most exciting games, probably ranking in my top three or four, personally.

“That’s what’s great about this game. You get a chance to redeem yourself. You can go from goat to hero in your next game or your next at-bat, and I guess I showed that.”

Chuck McElroy (1-1) pitched a perfect eighth and ninth to earn the win.

San Francisco 7, Arizona 4--Kirk Rueter pitched seven strong innings at San Francisco, and Brian Johnson homered twice as the Giants won their third in a row.

Rueter (7-3) gave up one run and six hits and struck out five in moving into a tie for the NL lead in victories. He has won four of his last five starts, including the last three in a row.

Pittsburgh 9, Montreal 4--Jermaine Allensworth broke an 0 for 15 slide with a two-run double, keying a four-run fourth inning that carried Francisco Cordova and the Pirates to victory at Pittsburgh.

Tony Womack added a triple and two RBIs to back Cordova’s two-run pitching over seven innings as the Pirates won their second in a row since losing four straight.

New York 8, Philadelphia 6--Bernard Gilkey hit a go-ahead, two-run single in the eighth inning at Philadelphia as the Mets won their ninth consecutive game.

The Mets’ winning streak is their longest since they won 10 in a row in 1990. New York, which has had at least 15 hits in five of its last six games, had a season-high 19 to complete a three-game sweep of the Phillies.

Milwaukee 7, Florida 6--Darrin Jackson scored the go-ahead run on a throwing error as the Brewers defeated the Marlins at Milwaukee for their fifth consecutive victory.

The Marlins have lost five in a row and are 0-7 against the Brewers this season.

Florida rookie catcher Mike Redmond celebrated his first major league start with three hits, including a solo homer that tied the score, 6-6, in the sixth inning.

Chicago 4, Atlanta 2--Kevin Tapani pitched 7 1/3 strong innings to lead the Cubs to victory and a three-game sweep of the Braves at Chicago.

Matt Mieske, Manny Alexander, Scott Servais and Tapani each hit RBI singles against Denny Neagle in a four-run sixth inning for the Cubs.

The Cubs beat three seven-game winners: Tom Glavine, Kevin Millwood and Neagle, to post their first sweep of the Braves since May 15-17, 1989.

Atlanta has lost a season-high four consecutive games.