HOUSTON – Carlos Lee hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning and the Houston Astros rallied to beat the New York Mets 3-2 on Thursday night.
Angel Sanchez and Hunter Pence singled with no outs before Lee drove Pat Misch's next pitch to the Crawford Boxes in left field. Misch (0-2) was rolling before the trouble in the seventh, retiring 16 straight hitters after Pence's two-out double in the first.
Bud Norris (6-7) pitched seven solid innings for Houston, yielding two runs and two hits. Wilton Lopez worked the eighth before Brandon Lyon tossed a perfect ninth for his fifth save, completing the three-hitter.
New York scored both of its runs in the fourth. Angel Pagan walked, stole second and advanced on a groundout before coming home on Jeff Francoeur's bouncer to shortstop. Chris Carter added a run-scoring infield hit.
Norris settled down after the shaky fourth, retiring the last 10 batters he faced. The right-hander struck out four and walked two while throwing 123 pitches, improving to 4-0 with a 3.31 ERA in his last five starts.
Lopez yielded a hit in the eighth and hasn't allowed a run in his last 17 outings.
Misch gave up three runs and four hits in six-plus innings.
Misch singled with one out in the third for the first hit off Norris, who retired the next two batters before running into trouble in the fourth inning.
NOTES: The Astros activated INF Tommy Manzella from the disabled list. He had been out with a fractured left index finger. ... RHP Brian Moehler, on the disabled list with a tear in his groin, felt good after throwing three innings of a simulated game on Thursday. He could be ready to go on a rehabilitation assignment soon. ... The Mets optioned OF Fernando Martinez to Triple-A Buffalo to make room on the roster for Rod Barajas, who came off the disabled list to start at catcher.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.