Pirates 2, Astros 3
Bud Norris struck out a career-high 14 in seven dominant innings and Hunter Pence hit a go-ahead RBI double in the seventh inning as the Houston Astros rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.
Houston got a spectacular outing from Norris (5-7), who allowed two runs and five hits while topping his previous career high of 10 strikeouts.
Norris' teammates made sure his efforts didn’t go to waste as the Astros came from behind for the second straight night to record its eighth straight home win over Pittsburgh.
Humberto Quintero led off the seventh with a single off Paul Maholm (7-11) and later scored on a two-out single to right from Angel Sanchez. Pence, who hit his 16th homer of the season in the fourth inning, followed with a double to give the Astros a 3-2 lead.
Wilton Lopez threw a perfect eighth and Brandon Lyon worked around a one-out single the ninth for his fourth save in five chances.
It was another heartbreaking loss for the Pirates, who have dropped six straight and are on pace for their worst season since 1952. Pittsburgh lost 4-1 Friday when Carlos Lee hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth.
Maholm allowed three runs and nine hits in 6 2/3 innings. He was staked to a 2-0 lead when Garrett Jones belted a two-run homer in the first. Pence’s homer cut the lead to 2-1.