HOUSTON – Hunter Pence had his team-leading 24th homer among his three hits and the Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-4 Sunday.
Carlos Lee hit his 21st homer of the season as the Astros earned a split of the four-game series against the Dodgers. Lee, Angel Sanchez, Brett Wallace and Jason Castro each had two hits for the Astros, who have won 16 of their last 22 games at Minute Maid Park.
Gustavo Chacin (2-2) wriggled out of a bases-loaded jam with two outs in the fifth to keep the score tied 4-all. He and five other relievers combined for 4 1-3 innings of two-hit ball. Rookie Fernando Abad worked 1 2-3 hitless innings. Brandon Lyon pitched a hitless ninth to earn his 15 save.
The Astros scored twice against reliever Ramon Troncoso (1-3) in the fifth inning to take the lead for good. Wallace led off with a double and scored one out later on a bloop double to center field by Castro. Pinch-hitter Geoff Blum then followed with an RBI double to make it 6-4.
The Astros scored four runs against Dodgers starter Carlos Monasterios in the first inning. After Michael Bourn led off the game with a single, Pence made it 2-0 with his 24th homer of the season. On a full-count pitch, Monasterios left a slider up and Pence drilled it off the facade above the wall in left for a 390-foot home run.
Pence has a career-high 84 RBIs. He drove in 83 runs in 2008.
Lee followed with a single, but it looked like the rookie pitcher would escape further damage when he got Matt Downs to hit a grounder to short. But instead of turning a double play, Dodgers shortstop Chin-Lung Hu threw the ball into right field leaving Lee and Downs on second and third.
Wallace drove in both with a single to right.
Monasterios didn't make it out of the second inning and was replaced by Jeff Weaver after walking two of the first three batters he faced. The 24-year old rookie gave up five hits, four runs (three earned) while striking out two and walking two.
Los Angeles got back in the game with a four-run fourth inning. Trent Oeltjen led off the inning with the Dodgers' first hit of the game, and Andre Ethier reached with an infield hit one out later. Gibbons made it 4-3 with a 409-foot homer to the upper deck in right field.
Gibbons is now hitting .500 (7 for 14) with runners in scoring position since being recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque on Aug. 8.
James Loney followed with a triple to the gap in right center, and Russ Mitchell collected the first RBI of his career with a sacrifice fly to center to tie the game.
NOTES: Astros rookie third baseman Chris Johnson missed his second straight game with a lower back injury. Johnson is second among NL rookies in batting at .319. Since the All-Star Break, Johnson is sixth overall in the NL in hitting at .333 (min. 150 AB) Prior to Sunday's game, the Astros activated RHP Felipe Paulino from the 60-day disabled list. He missed the last three months with shoulder tendinitis Dodgers infielder John Lindsey recorded his first major league hit in the fifth inning. Pinch-hitting for relief pitcher Ronald Belisario, Lindsey lined a single to left. Lindsey spent the first 16 years of his career in the minors and was recently called up for the first time. He made his first career start Saturday and went 0 for 3 at the plate.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.