Pirates Keeping Tether on Astros

The Pittsburgh Pirates had little choice: Be respectable against Houston or possibly be out of the NL Central race by Memorial Day.

Jason Kendall drove in four runs and the Pirates, outscored, 31-10, during Houston’s three-game sweep earlier this month, ended Jose Lima’s eight-game winning streak by beating the Astros, 6-5, Friday night.

Another Houston three-game sweep would have put the Pirates 10 games out by Sunday night, with more than two-thirds of the season left.

“When a team gets swept, it sends a message, and they did a good job of doing that,” Pirate Kevin Young said. “They’re the team to beat in the division, by far. They’ve proven that.”

Lima had won eight consecutive starts since an April 8 loss to the Chicago Cubs and was trying to become the NL’s first nine-game winner. He was 5-0 on the road this season and hadn’t lost a road start since Sept. 19.

But Lima (8-2) fell behind, 3-0, in the first inning on Kendall’s three-run double after singles by Warren Morris and Brian Giles and Young’s walk, then twice gave up the lead run after Houston tied the score.

Young was two for two with a run-scoring triple in the seventh off reliever Trever Miller after going six for 39 with one RBI his previous 10 games.

The Astros, criticized by Manager Larry Dierker for having only four hits in a 4-3 loss Thursday to Colorado, were held to six hits by four Pirate pitchers. Leadoff hitter Craig Biggio, who took umbrage at Dierker’s criticism and suggested the manager bat himself, was one for five with an RBI.

Biggio had a chance to drive in the tying run in the ninth after reliever Mike Williams’ two-base throwing error sent Russ Johnson to third. But Biggio flied out to end the game.

Pirate starter Todd Ritchie (4-3) squandered the 3-0 lead mostly through his own wildness, walking Jeff Bagwell, Bill Spiers and Richard Hidalgo in succession ahead of Alex Diaz’s two-run single in the third.

Ritchie also gave up rookie Paul Bako’s RBI double in the second and Biggio’s run-scoring single in the fourth after shortstop Mike Benjamin’s throwing error, but still lasted six innings for the victory.

“There were too many walks, and you can’t keep giving free passes to a team like that because one mistake can clean the bases,” Ritchie said. “But we were able to get out of it and the offense scored some runs.”