Astros 8, Rockies 5
HOUSTON -- Third baseman Luis Valbuena belted a pair of home runs to pace another power-laden offensive attack as the Houston Astros defeated the Colorado Rockies 8-5 on Tuesday at Minute Maid Park.
Valbuena homered twice off Rockies left-hander Chris Rusin (2-2) to increase his team-leading total to 16 home runs. He took Rusin out the opposite way to left field for a solo homer with one out in the second inning before adding a three-run blast that capped a five-run second.
The Astros (38-28) claimed the first two games of this split four-game set, with both teams set to resume the series in Denver on Wednesday.
Colorado (28-36) dropped its 13th consecutive interleague road game.
Astros catcher Hank Conger added a solo home run in the fifth inning off Colorado right-hander Brooks Brown, providing an answer to the Rockies' two-run rally in the top half of the inning.
Colorado right fielder Carlos Gonzalez supplied both runs with his two-run shot off Astros right-hander Vince Velasquez, a 435-foot blast into the upper deck in right that chased Velasquez from the game an out short of five complete innings.
Gonzalez just missed matching Valbuena with a second homer in the seventh. His shot down the right-field line off Astros left-hander Tony Sipp was initially ruled fair, but his 10th homer was erased after a replay review determined that the ball traveled foul. Gonzalez later struck out.
The Rockies seized a 3-1 lead in the second when catcher Michael McKenry, second baseman DJ LeMahieu, and center fielder Charlie Blackmon delivered RBI singles. Velasquez recovered to retire eight of the next 10 batters, issuing a pair of walks during that span.
But after striking out shortstop Troy Tulowitzki twice, Velasquez surrendered a two-out single to Tulowitzki in advance of the Gonzalez homer.
The Astros' outburst in the third inning came with two outs as Conger and left fielder Domingo Santana preceded Valbuena with run-scoring singles, with Santana notching his first career hit.
Right-hander Luke Gregerson worked a perfect ninth inning for his 17th save on the season. Right-hander Will Harris (3-0) earned the victory for the Astros.
NOTES: A New York Times report revealed that the FBI is investigating front office officials with the St. Louis Cardinals for hacking into the Astros' internal network last season to steal information on player personnel. The Astros suffered a significant breach of their "Ground Control" database last summer. Both the Cardinals and Astros said through team-issued statements they are cooperating fully with the investigation. ... The Rockies have not yet established a timetable for RHP Rafael Betancourt but expect that he will face hitters sometime soon. Betancourt was placed on the 15-day disabled list with vertigo symptoms on June 8. ... Astros OF Domingo Santana was recalled from Triple-A Fresno and started in left field. He replaced OF Colby Rasmus on the 25-man roster. Rasmus is on the bereavement list following the death of his grandmother, and will miss the remainder of the Rockies series.