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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
HOUSTON (AP) -- Shawn Estes didn't allow a shaky first inning to
rattle his confidence.
Estes (15-4), who won for the 10th time in 11 decisions, gave up four first-inning runs, then gave up only one in the next six
innings as San Francisco beat Houston 9-5 on Tuesday night.
|  | | Shawn Estes recovered from a four-run first inning to earn his 15h win Tuesday as the Giants beat Houston. |
"I had to keep things in perspective," Estes said of the first
inning. "I tried to keep them off balance after that and more
importantly keep the guys around the middle of the lineup off
base."
He struck out the last three batters in the first and retired 12
of the next 14 on his way to his third straight victory.
"That was all they got," Estes said. "After that I got into a
comfort zone and I got a rhythm going. I thought I had pretty good
stuff. The middle of their lineup is as good as it gets in this
league."
The Giants never lost faith in Estes early.
"You can't throw perfectly all the time," Jeff Kent said.
"Shawn's mature enough to know a game is longer than just one
inning.
"You've got to pitch the entire game and have faith in your
offense. Shawn's a lot better pitcher now and he's going to get
even better."
Catcher Bobby Estalella saw a noticeable change in Estes midway
through the first inning.
"His first six or seven batters, he didn't have much movement
on anything," Estalella said. "The ball seemed real flat,
especially with his fastball.
"After they scored the four runs, I think he got upset and
started bearing down. His ball had a lot more movement then,
especially with the sinker and he moved it away from hitters. If he
had pitched like that from the beginning, he would have been
okay."
The Astros were impressed with Estes.
"He's the real item," manager Larry Dierker said of Estes.
"He reminds me a lot of (Mike) Hampton, coming on this way like
Hampton did a couple of years ago. And he's liable to be pretty
good for a lot of years because he's still young."
Marvin Benard, Barry Bonds and Bill Mueller all homered as the
Giants rallied past the Astros for the second straight night.
San Francisco began the night with an 8½-game lead over
second-place Arizona in the NL West.
Houston, which had won three straight NL Central titles, was
eliminated from postseason contention earlier in the night when the
New York Mets beat Milwaukee. The Astros (63-82) are assured of
their first losing season since going 65-97 in 1991.
Jeff Bagwell hit his 43rd homer, tying the Astros team record he
set in 1997.
Estes struck out eight in seven innings, surrendering five runs and
nine hits.
Scott Elarton (16-6) gave up six runs and seven hits in six
innings. Coming in, according to research by the Elias Sports
Bureau, his .762 winning percentage was the third-highest for a
pitcher on a team with a losing record, trailing only Sandy Koufax
(19-5, .792 for Los Angeles in 1964) and Bib Gibson (23-7, .767 for
St. Louis in 1970).
"It wasn't me in the third inning," Elarton said. "I really
got away from the way I've pitched the last two or three months.
After that inning, I came back really upset with myself."
Benard hit his 12th homer of the year on the third pitch of the
game, but Houston took a 4-1 lead in the bottom half on Richard
Hidalgo's two-run double and Moises Alou's two-run triple. Hidalgo
has nine RBIs in his last four games.
San Francisco came back in the third on Felipe Crespo's two-run
single and Rich Aurilia's two-run double, but Bagwell's homer made
it 5-all in the bottom half.
Bonds put the Giants ahead to stay in the fifth with his 46th
homer, matching his career high, set in 1993. Mueller hit a two-run
homer in the seventh and Rich Aurilia added an RBI grounder in the
ninth.
Game notes
Benard has eight homers leading off games, including two
this year (also Aug. 15 at Montreal). ... Hidalgo is hitting .375
(9-for-24) with the bases loaded this season with four doubles, a
home run and 23 RBI this season.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
San Francisco Clubhouse
Houston Clubhouse
RECAPS
Texas 9
Baltimore 1
Texas 6
Baltimore 5
(2nd game)
Boston 8
Cleveland 6
NY Yankees 10
Toronto 2
Detroit 10
Chi. White Sox 3
Anaheim 5
Tampa Bay 2
Oakland 5
Minnesota 3
Seattle 11
Kansas City 3
Chicago Cubs 2
Cincinnati 1
Montreal 1
Philadelphia 0
St. Louis 11
Pittsburgh 1
NY Mets 10
Milwaukee 2
Florida 5
Atlanta 4
San Francisco 9
Houston 5
Arizona 5
Los Angeles 4
Colorado 6
San Diego 3
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