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09/03 23:39 CDT Ojeda's sac fly lifts D'backs over Astros 4-3
Ojeda's sac fly lifts D'backs over Astros 4-3
By JOHN MARSHALL AP Sports Writer PHOENIX (AP) -- Pinch hitter Augie Ojeda hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to lift the Arizona Diamondbacks to their eighth win in nine games, 4-3 over the Houston Astros on Friday night. Daniel Hudson pitched six effective innings, Aaron Heilman (5-5) allowed a hit in the eighth and Juan Gutierrez worked the ninth for his seventh save. Adam LaRoche drove in two runs with a double in the first inning and a single in the fifth to reach 89 RBIs, eclipsing Tony Clark's 2005 team record for a first baseman by two. Houston starter Brett Myers extended his streak of lasting at least six innings to 28 games. Arizona pulled out the win in the eighth when Ojeda hit a ball to center off Wilton Lopez (5-1) that was just deep enough to score Ryan Roberts from third. Hudson was sharp once again since arriving from the White Sox in a July 30 trade. The rookie right-hander has lasted at least seven innings in all six starts for Arizona, going 4-1 with a 1.85 ERA. Hudson didn't allow a hit against the Astros until Angel Sanchez's leadoff single in the fourth inning, then gave up a run when Hunter Pence followed with another single and Jeff Keppinger hit a just-through-the-hole RBI single to left. The Astros got another run off him in the fifth on Myers' late-swinging double that right fielder Gerardo Parra just missed, and a run-scoring single by Sanchez to nearly the same spot. Hudson was replaced by a pinch hitter in the sixth after allowing two runs on seven hits with six strikeouts. Myers has been consistently good this season, lasting at least six innings in all his starts, the longest streak in team history and longest in the majors since Arizona's Curt Schilling reached the seventh in 35 straight starts in 2002. Myers' six-or-more streak appeared to be headed to a quick and ugly end against the hot-hitting Diamondbacks. He gave up a single to Stephen Drew in a lengthy opening at-bat, a walk to Chris Young, then a run-scoring double by LaRoche. After escaping that early shakiness with three weak popouts to end the inning, Myers found trouble again in the fifth, when Young and LaRoche followed Parra's leadoff triple with run-scoring singles that put Arizona up 3-2. Myers was replaced by a pinch hitter in the seventh inning after allowing three runs on seven hits in six innings, getting off the hook for the loss when Sanchez's double play groundout off Blaine Boyer tied it at 3-3 in the seventh. Notes: Astros 3B coach Dave Clark turned 48 on Friday, a birthday shared by snowboarder Shaun White and actor Charlie Sheen. ... Arizona RF B.J. Upton was out of the starting lineup for the second straight game to give his sore left shoulder another day to heal. He tweaked the shoulder while swinging in the seventh inning against San Diego on Monday. ... Houston's Michael Bourn extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a single in the seventh inning.
