Ward, Astros Spoil Debut for Dempster

Daryle Ward has found his home run swing.

Ward homered and drove in three runs to help lead the Houston Astros to a 6-3 victory over the Reds and Ryan Dempster, who made his debut with Cincinnati on Friday night at Houston.

It was Ward’s third homer in 14 games. He hit only two in his first 75 games and went 215 straight at-bats without one.

“I just think I’m starting to face teams for the second time this year,” he said. “I’m starting to learn their pitchers better and kind of have an understanding of how to go at them.”

“This is my first year to start and I had a lot to learn. And I kind of got wore down the first half since I wasn’t accustomed to playing every day. The All-Star break did me a lot of good,” he said.

Dempster (5-9) went 3 2/3 innings in his first start for the Reds since coming over from Florida in a trade Thursday. He allowed six runs and six hits.

“They are a team that hits mistakes well,” Dempster said. “And tonight I made too many.

“A starting pitcher is supposed to give the team a chance to win. I didn’t do my job. I felt good out there. There were just a couple of pitches I didn’t execute on, one to [Richard] Hidalgo and one to Ward,” he said.

Manager Jimy Williams likes what he sees in Ward, who is seven for 18 (.389) in his current five-game streak.

“He’s really stinging the ball, especially on that home run,” Williams said. “I know him and [hitting coach] Harry Spilman have spent a lot of time working on things lately. It’s not easy to be a good hitter.”

Houston won its fourth straight and 10th in 12 games.

It was the third straight loss and sixth in eight games for the Reds.

Wade Miller (5-3) went five innings. He allowed three runs and eight hits, struck out five and walked one. Since coming off the disabled list May 29, Miller is 5-1 with a 4.29 ERA in nine starts and the Astros are 8-1 in those games.

Miller improved to 3-0 in six career starts against the Reds. Billy Wagner pitched the ninth for his 16th save in 19 opportunities.

The Astros scored three runs in the first inning on Julio Lugo’s leadoff homer, his fifth homer of the year, and a two-run double by Hidalgo. Ward’s two-run homer gave Houston a 5-2 lead in the third.

Chicago 5, Florida 4--Florida center fielder Preston Wilson ran into the ivy-covered wall with two out in the 16th inning and dropped pinch-hitter Angel Echevarria’s fly ball to give the Cubs a win at Chicago.

Wilson appeared to run down Echevarria’s fly but did not hang onto the ball as he ran into the wall. Wilson fell to the ground and umpires immediately called it a no-catch. Corey Patterson scored easily from third with the winning run on Echevarria’s single. As the Cubs celebrated, Wilson was checked out by trainers and walked off the field under his own power.

With two out in the 16th, Patterson and Todd Hundley each singled off Carl Pavano (3-9). Pavano’s first pitch to Echevarria was wild, allowing Patterson and Hundley to advance.

Fred McGriff homered and drove in three runs for the Cubs, who won interim manager Bruce Kimm’s first game at Wrigley Field.

Philadelphia 9, New York 8--Pat Burrell and Scott Rolen both homered and the Phillies held off a late rally to win at New York. Down 9-5, the Mets loaded the bases with none out in the bottom of the ninth inning, but Mike Piazza grounded into a double play, and closer Jose Mesa hung on to preserve the victory.

Piazza’s double-play grounder scored a run that made it 9-6. Pinch-hitter Joe McEwing had an RBI single and, after Edgardo Alfonzo’s infield hit, Jay Payton singled home a run. Mesa retired Roger Cedeno on a grounder to short to end the game.

San Diego 4, St. Louis 3--Bubba Trammell hit a three-run double in the seventh inning and Ryan Klesko singled in the tiebreaking run in the eighth for the Padres at San Diego. The Padres ended an eight-game losing streak to the NL Central-leading Cardinals.

With the score tied at 3-3, Mark Sweeney, pinch-hitting for pitcher Mike Holtz (1-0), hit a leadoff single to snap an 0-for-22 slump and chase reliever Dave Veres (3-4). Pinch-runner Trenidad Hubbard took second on Ramon Vazquez’s groundout and scored on Klesko’s two-out single off Steve Kline.

San Francisco 9, Colorado 0--Livan Hernandez pitched the third shutout of his career, giving up four hits as the Giants won at San Francisco. Rookie Damon Minor hit a two-run home run and Tsuyoshi Shinjo drove in three runs as San Francisco won its third straight. Hernandez (7-10), who snapped a four-game losing streak, matched his season-high with eight strikeouts in his 21st career complete game. He also added an RBI double in the eighth inning.

Mike Hampton (5-10) was 12-1 with a 3.29 lifetime ERA against the Giants going into the game. His only loss against them was in San Francisco last July 18.

Pittsburgh 9, Milwaukee 2--Brian Giles, Kevin Young and Jack Wilson each hit two-run homers as the Pirates cruised at Milwaukee. All of the Pirates’ home runs came off Glendon Rusch (5-8), who fell to 0-5 lifetime against Pittsburgh.