Carter, Astros down Rockies
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Chris Carter smacked a three-run home run in a big sixth inning to lead Houston in a 7-5 win over Colorado on Thursday.
Matt Dominguez hit a solo home run while J.D. Martinez went 4-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored for the Astros, who won three of four over Colorado in a home-and-home four-game series.
Lucas Harrell (4-6) snapped a string of four losing decisions as he gave up four runs -- three earned -- on eight hits over 5 2/3 innings.
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"I was just battling the whole game and we had to grind it out," said Harrell. "I just wanted to keep things close and give the guys at the plate a chance to win it."
Yorvit Torrealba went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored while Carlos Gonzalez scored twice for the Rockies, who have dropped five of six overall. Juan Nicasio (4-2) gave up five runs on seven hits over five-plus innings to take the loss.
"When you have a starter that's in trouble you have to put him away or you will lose games," said Colorado manager Walt Weiss. "We didn't do that tonight and it cost us."
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Colorado pushed a run across in each of the first three innings, as Michael Cuddyer had an RBI single in the first, Dexter Fowler drove one in with a basehit in the second, and Torrealba made it a 3-0 game with his RBI single in the third.
Houston got one back in the fourth after Carlos Pena grounded into a double play, plating Jason Castro for a 3-1 contest, but the team surged ahead in the big sixth inning.
Jose Altuve led off with a single and Castro followed with a double. Martinez plated the first run with a single and Pena tied the game with an RBI hit.
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Wilton Lopez then took over on the mound, and Carter greeted him by clubbing a 3-2 sinker deep over the left field wall for his 10th home run of the season. Dominguez followed with his eighth homer of the year for a 7-3 lead.
The Rockies got one back with two outs in the sixth as Gonzalez's single plated a run and left runners at the corners, but Brad Peacock got Troy Tulowitzki to hit into a fielder's choice to end the frame.
Peacock then worked a 1-2-3 seventh and stranded a man in the eighth.
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Wesley Wright gave up a leadoff single to Gonzalez to start the ninth and Houston went to Hector Ambriz, who then gave up a single to Tulowitzki before striking out Cuddyer. Todd Helton's sac fly made it a two-run game, but Ambriz got Nolan Arenado to look at strike three for his first career save.
Game Notes
Colorado went 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position, but left 11 men on base ... Harrell moved to 2-2 in four games against the Rockies ... Nicasio is 0-1 in three games against the Astros ... Houston starts a four-game road series against the Angels on Friday ... Colorado hosts the Dodgers for three games starting Friday.