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  Thursday, Sep. 7 4:05pm ET
Rookie Truby gets key hit for Astros
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

HOUSTON (AP) -- Chris Truby appreciated his second opportunity to come through in the clutch.

Truby singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, leading Scott Elarton and the Houston Astros over the Florida Marlins 7-3 Thursday.

Truby's hit came after the Marlins intentionally walked Mitch Meluskey. In the fourth inning, after an intentional walk to Meluskey, Truby popped up with the bases loaded.

"I was glad to get another chance. You don't get too many chances like that and I was kind of upset at myself after the first time because I swung at some bad pitches," Truby said.

Truby wasn't insulted by the intentional walks to Meluskey.

"You try not to take that angle," Truby said. "You try just to go up and have a quality at-bat. I told myself just to be patient and wait until he put a fastball in a good place. It was a good feeling, especially to help Scott get the win. He deserved it."

Florida interim manager Fredi Gonzalez made the decision to walk Meluskey.

"I thought we had a better chance with Truby than with Meluskey," Gonzalez said. "(Dan) Miceli made a good pitch. He got it in, but Truby was strong enough to get it over the infield and that opened up the flood gates."

Gonzalez is filling while manager John Boles is in Chicago with his ailing father.

Elarton (16-5) won for the 12th time in 14 decisions since June 22. He pitched eight innings, giving up three runs and seven hits.

With the score 3-all, Lance Berkman drew a leadoff walk from Miceli (6-4) in the Astros eighth and pinch-runner Glen Barker stole second. After Meluskey was walked, Truby singled.

Pinch-hitter Daryle Ward hit an RBI single and pinch-hitter Moises Alou had a two-run double.

Derrek Lee led off the Marlins seventh with his 24th home run, tying it at 3.

Jeff Bagwell and Julio Lugo homered in the fifth to put Houston ahead 3-2. Lugo hit a leadoff home run and Bagwell hit his 41st, a two-run shot.

It was Bagwell's 24th home run in his home park, breaking his Astros record of 23 home-park homers set in 1994. He is two home runs short of matching his team record of 43 set in 1997.

Florida took a 2-0 lead in the fourth. Alex Gonzalez led off with a home run, and the Marlins loaded the bases when Henry Rodriguez walked and Preston Wilson and Mike Lowell singled. Mark Smith hit an RBI single.

Houston managed to load the bases in the fourth with two outs, but Ryan Dempster retired Truby on a fly ball.

Game notes
Gonzalez extended his career-high hitting streak to 12 games ... Elarton is 8-0 in day games this season ... Meluskey has hit 14 home runs this season, two short of the Houston record for a catcher set by John Bateman in 1966.

 


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