Prior Has a Handle on Astros

No way Mark Prior was going to let the Houston Astros get to him again.

Prior allowed two hits and struck out eight, and Moises Alou homered against his old team as the Chicago Cubs defeated the Astros, 5-0, Friday at Chicago.

“He threw great,” said Craig Biggio, who got Houston’s only extra-base hit against Prior. “He never made any mistakes out over the plate and really pitched a great game. He’s good.”

Alex Gonzalez drove in two runs and slumping Corey Patterson added an RBI for the Cubs, 6-2 since the All-Star break.

Nelson Cruz (1-5) struck out a career-high eight and gave up only two hits in 5 1/3 innings. But one of those hits was Alou’s solo homer, and that was all the Cubs needed to back Prior (4-2).

“I came in today and wanted to do some things,” Prior said. “Obviously I wanted to get back at them from the other outing I had.”

Prior, the second pick in last summer’s amateur draft, had his worst start in the majors when he faced the Astros for the first time June 1. He gave up a whopping seven runs in 3 2/3 innings that day, and needed 95 pitches to get there.

On Friday, Prior didn’t give up a walk, and has given up two earned runs or fewer in eight of his 11 starts.

New York 4, Cincinnati 2--Mike Piazza, Edgardo Alfonzo and Roberto Alomar hit solo home runs, and the Mets took advantage of a missed call at Cincinnati.

The Mets led 3-1 in the fifth when the Reds loaded the bases with one out.

Austin Kearns then hit a high fly and left fielder Timo Perez jumped as he approached the fence. The ball hit about three feet above Perez, caromed off the wall and bounced right into his glove.

But the play was ruled a catch, with Perez holding his glove aloft, and he threw back to second base to double off Todd Walker before Brady Clark could tag up and score.

San Diego 6, Arizona 1--Ryan Klesko had a triple and double among his four hits and scored three times at San Diego as the Padres earned their fifth consecutive victory over the Diamondbacks.

Klesko went four for four and was a home run short of becoming the first player to hit for the cycle in the Padres’ 34-year history. Bubba Trammell was three for three with three RBIs.

Atlanta 4, Philadelphia 1--Damian Moss pitched six strong innings and Andruw Jones homered as the Braves won at Philadelphia. Atlanta has won 21 of its last 27 games.

Chipper Jones had two hits and two runs scored, and Gary Sheffield doubled to reach base for his 45th consecutive game.

Pittsburgh 12, St. Louis 9--Rob Mackowiak hit a two-run pinch homer in the seventh inning at Pittsburgh after the Pirates squandered a five-run lead built on Adam Hyzdu’s grand slam.

Colorado 9, Milwaukee 5--Todd Hollandsworth and Gary Bennett drove in three runs each, and Shawn Chacon won at home for the first time in nearly three months as the Rockies beat the Brewers.

Florida 4, Montreal 2--The Marlins ended an eight-game losing streak, winning for the first time since the All-Star break as Michael Tejera (6-2) won at Miami.