Follow Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter VI Mobile College Basketball March Mayhem Picks College Basketball March Mayhem Picks VegasInsider.com VegasInsider.com
Handicapper Bios Sports Picks Free Odds Contests Sportsbook
Sports Betting Home NFL NBANHLMLBNCAA FBNCAA BKGolfAutoHorsesBoxingVI More Sports
 
MLB Scores Matchups Teams Standings
 
 · Regular Season
Schedules Injuries News
 
 · Latest News
 · Player Updates
 · Transactions
Buy Picks Vegas Odds
 
 · Vegas Odds
 · Offshore Odds
 · Future Odds
 
Recap: Marlins , Astros
 •  BT Movements
Game: 2
Venue: Minute Maid Park
Date: April 21, 2010 8:05 PM EDT
  

HOUSTON (AP) -The Houston Astros' bench players have been the big stars lately, even with Lance Berkman finally in the lineup.

Geoff Blum's first career pinch-hit triple drove in two runs in the seventh inning to propel the Astros to a 5-4 win over the Florida Marlins on Wednesday night.

Advertisement

Blum's hit off Burke Badenhop (0-2) that Cameron Maybin had to chase almost to the wall in center field, gave the Astros their fourth straight win and fifth in the last six games after an 0-8 start.

It was the second night in a row that a player came off the bench to help win the game after Jason Michaels hit a homer in the eighth inning of Houston's 7-5 win Tuesday in Berkman's first game of the season.

``I think they did a good job of keeping a good nucleus on the bench with myself, Michaels and (Jeff) Keppinger,' Blum said. ``I think it's going to be a pretty good mix for us in the long run.'

Still, the Astros believe the return of Berkman has given the them a boost of confidence.

``We got Lance back and just his presence, he's going to deliver and you know he's going to hit, you know he's going to make plays in the field and just give us some more depth in the lineup,' Michael Bourn said.

Humberto Quintero had two hits, including a homer, for the Astros to send the Marlins to their first series defeat of the season.

Wilton Lopez (1-0) allowed one hit and no runs in two innings for the win and Matt Lindstrom pitched a scoreless ninth for his fourth save.

Houston had consecutive singles by Pedro Feliz and Kaz Matsui in the seventh inning before Blum's two-RBI triple with one out gave Houston a 5-4 lead. The hit completed a comeback for the Astros who trailed 4-1 after Florida's four-run fifth inning.

Badenhop allowed three hits and two runs with two strikeouts in the seventh before Christopher Leroux pitched a scoreless eighth.

Bourn doubled in the sixth inning before a walk by Keppinger. Berkman reached on a fielder's choice and Keppinger was out at second, leaving Bourn stuck between second and third. Hanley Ramirez got an error after crashing into Bourn after the fourth throw of the run down, allowing him to reach third.

``I was just really concentrating on getting the ball out of my glove on that play,' Ramirez said. ``I was standing on the line, and I could not get out of the way.'

Carlos Lee - who has had at least 100 RBIs in each of the last five seasons - drove in his first run of the year on a single to left field in the sixth to get Houston within 4-3. The Astros' second out of the inning came when Berkman was caught trying to steal third. Before the game, he talked about his concern about sliding for the first time since knee surgery and looked more than a bit rusty when he did.

Berkman said Houston's streak doesn't surprise him.

``People wrote us off early and I think we have a good team,' he said. ``I look at the pitching staff and the guys that we have and to me it's a good ball team.'

Marlins starter Josh Johnson retired Pence to end that inning.

Johnson allowed a single by Quintero with no outs in the third inning before retiring the next eight batters. Then it was Quintero again, this time with a solo homer to center with two outs in the fifth that made it 4-2.

Johnson allowed four hits and two earned runs in six innings.

Astros starter Bud Norris didn't allow a hit until Dan Uggla's single to start the fifth. He walked John Baker before striking out Cody Ross. A single by Gaby Sanchez scored Uggla to tie it 1 before Baker scored on a sacrifice bunt by Johnson. Maybin pushed the lead to 3-1 with his run-scoring triple that fell just behind a sprinting Bourn in center field.

Keppinger overthrew first base to allow Chris Coghlan to reach and Maybin to score and make it 4-1. Norris finally got out of that inning when Bourn raced up the hill in center field to grab a high fly ball from Ramirez.

Norris left after giving up three hits and four runs with five strikeouts in five innings.

Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez isn't worried after his team dropped its first series.

``No,' he said. ``You want to win games, and series. You want to win every game. I don't care if it is in April or September. But nobody is panicking right now. This was a good ball game.'

NOTES: Florida's Jorge Cantu singled in the ninth inning to extend his hitting streak to 19 games, dating to last season. ... Astros RHP Alberto Arias, on the 15-day disabled list, will have surgery Thursday to repair his injured right shoulder. There is no timetable set for his return. ... Houston RHP Yorman Bazardo, on the disabled list with a shoulder injury, pitched a scoreless inning for Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2013
The Associated Press
All Rights Reserved

 SERIES AT A GLANCE
GAME 1
Marlins at Astros
Tue, Apr 20 Final 5 to 7
 Boxscores  •  Recaps
GAME 2
Marlins at Astros
Wed, Apr 21 Final 4 to 5
 Boxscores  •  Recaps
GAME 3
Marlins at Astros
Thu, Apr 22 Final 5 to 1
 Boxscores  •  Recaps

 BETTING TRENDS
 Team  ML   RUN   O/U 
 FLA         
 HOU         
BT MOVEMENTS

 
 
  
GOLD Membership
Over 150 Member Plays free each month. Signup Today!
 
 

NFL
NFL Sports Picks
NFL Vegas Odds
NFL Online Odds
NFL Matchups
NFL Scores

More Sports
Golf
Auto Racing
Horse Racing
Boxing
WNBA

MLB
MLB Sports Picks
MLB Vegas Odds
MLB Online Odds
MLB Matchups
MLB Scores

Features
Free Odds
Contests
Newsletters
VI Radio
Las Vegas Travel
Follow us on Twitter
Add us on Google+
Join us on Facebook

NBA
NBA Sports Picks
NBA Vegas Odds
NBA Online Odds
NBA Matchups
NBA Scores

Sports Betting Tools
Live Odds
Mobile Odds
Parlay Calculator
Gaming Terms
TV Listings
Handicapping Records
Sports Betting
About Sports Betting
Sportsbook Reviews

NHL
NHL Sports Picks
NHL Vegas Odds
NHL Online Odds
NHL Matchups
NHL Scores

VegasInsider Info
About Us
Help Center
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Refund Policy
Contact Us
User Feedback

College Football
NCAA FB Sports Picks
NCAA FB Vegas Odds
NCAA FB Online Odds
NCAA FB Matchups
NCAA FB Scores

Sportsbooks
CarbonSports · Review
SportBet · Review
Sportsbook · Review
TopBet.eu · Review

College Basketball
NCAA BK Sports Picks
NCAA BK Vegas Odds
NCAA BK Online Odds
NCAA BK Matchups
NCAA BK Scores

Rotation Schedules
Baseball: Mar 31 - June 02

Copyright © 1997-2013, VegasInsider.com Inc., The Global Leader In Sports Gaming Information. All rights reserved.
For questions or comments, please contact us at 1-800-211-4759.