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Wednesday, Sep. 6 8:05pm ET
Lima: 4 HRs from NL gopherball record | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
HOUSTON (AP) -- Chris Truby is making his case to start at third base for the Houston Astros next season. "He's done nothing to make us think he can't do it," manager Larry Dierker said Wednesday night after Truby went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer and a triple in a 13-5 rout of the Florida Marlins. "But," Dierker said, "this is a game that until you establish yourself for two or three years, you always withhold your judgment on whether a guy has made it. But he certainly looks good right now." Truby has been up from the minors since Ken Caminiti had wrist surgery June 16, and is hitting .272 with eight homers and 38 RBI. "In the beginning, I was hitting a lot of line drives and I knew I wasn't going to stay up here doing that," he said. "But I have been able to add some power lately and that should help." Dierker said the Astros at first weren't sure Truby could hit major league fastballs. "But lately he has been catching up with them pretty well," Dierker said. "He has been getting his hands back a little and that has helped him get around quicker." Truby credits hitting coach Harry Spilman with the improvement. "Harry's the best thing that ever happened to me," Truby said. "He has stuck with me and really helped me improve." The Marlins were managed by third-base coach Fredi Gonzalez because manager John Boles went to Chicago to be with his ailing father. Jesus Sanchez (8-10) was knocked out in the fifth when the Astros got seven runs on five hits, including three straight doubles. "I think he got behind on the count then," Gonzalez said of Sanchez. "Then he tried to challenge those guys. He was pretty good until then. They hit some rockets." Jose Lima (7-15) allowed five runs and seven hits in eight innings, striking out six and improving to 6-2 in 12 starts since July 9. But he gave up homers to Preston Wilson and pinch-hitter Chris Clapinski. Lima has allowed 42 homers, four short of Robin Roberts' NL record, set in 1956, and eight short of the major league record Bert Blyleven set with Minnesota in 1986. Truby put Houston ahead with an RBI triple in the first but Derrek Lee's run-scoring single tied it in the fourth. Moises Alou's 27th homer again gave Houston the lead in the bottom half, but Wilson's 25th homer, a three-run drive, gave Florida a 4-2 lead in the fifth. Houston took a 6-4 lead in the big bottom half when Julio Lugo and Jeff Bagwell hit consecutive two-run doubles. Richard Hidalgo followed with an RBI double that chased Sanchez, and Truby hit a two-run homer off Manny Aybar that made it 9-4. Hidalgo added a sacrifice fly in the sixth. Clapinski hit his first major league homer in the seventh. Houston added three runs in the eighth off Brad Looper in the eighth and Bagwell's second double, Hidalgo's sacrifice fly and Alou's RBI groundout. Game notesBefore pitching in the first, Sanchez complained about the front of the mound. Groundskeepers spent nearly five minutes raking and adding dirt to the area to satisfy him ... Mike Lowell ended a 16-game hitting streak with an 0-for-3 night ... Alex Gonzalez extended his career-high hitting streak to 11 games. | ALSO SEE Baseball Scoreboard Florida Clubhouse Houston Clubhouse RECAPS Minnesota 4 Baltimore 1
Houston 13
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