Pittsburgh, PA – Kevin Correia tossed six solid innings and Brock Holt knocked in a pair of runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates past the Houston Astros, 6-3, in the rubber match of a three-game series at PNC Park.
Correia (10-8), who got the start in place of an injured Jeff Karstens, allowed one run on four hits and a walk for his first win since Aug. 8. He was making his sixth appearance and third start since his last victory.
Alex Presley added two hits, an RBI and three runs scored for the Pirates, who won their second straight following a four-game slide.
"I thought it was a very efficient offense tonight. We were able to score some runs different ways. The guys gave us some good at-bats," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said.
Fernando Abad (0-3) was touched for five runs -- four earned -- on six hits and three walks over four innings for Houston, which lost for the ninth time in 11 games.
Brandon Laird homered in a losing effort.
Pittsburgh jumped out to an early lead in the first inning when Clint Barmes hit a one-out single, moved to second on an Andrew McCutchen walk and came home on Garrett Jones' base hit to right field. Gaby Sanchez followed with a single through the left side of the infield to plate McCutchen for a 2-0 advantage.
After Houston left a runner on third in the top of the second inning, the Pirates added a run in the bottom of the frame as Presley reached first on a fielding error by first baseman Brett Wallace and later scored on Holt's infield single.
"We were down 3-0 and it seems like the same story. We were just battling back again," Astros interim manager Tony DeFrancesco said. "I thought we had a chance to win the series."
Jimmy Paredes led off the fourth inning with a double to left field and came home three batters later on Brian Bogusevic's liner to center field to get the Astros on the board. A Scott Moore bloop single to right field loaded the bases with one out, but Carlos Corporan grounded into an inning-ending double play to keep it a 3-1 game.
Pittsburgh then answered with a pair of runs in the home fourth when Rod Barajas hit a leadoff single before rounding the bases on Presley's triple over the head of Bogusevic in center field. Presley raced home on Holt's sacrifice fly to give the Pirates a four-run cushion.
Presley singled to start the sixth inning, moved to second on a walk by pinch- hitter Jeff Clement and came home on a pair of bunts by Holt and Barmes to give Pittsburgh a 6-1 lead.
Laird's two-run homer in the ninth inning accounted for the final margin.
Game Notes
Astros third baseman Scott Moore left the game in the sixth inning after suffering a left groin strain while fielding a ground ball ... Correia improved to 2-1 in 12 career appearances (seven starts) against the Astros ... Abad fell to 0-2 in nine appearances (one start) against Pittsburgh ... The Pirates won the season series between the teams, 11-3 ... It was Houston's final appearance in Pittsburgh as a member of the National League, as the Astros will move to the American League this offseason ... Houston has not won a series in Pittsburgh since taking 2-of-3 from them on May 29-31, 2009.
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