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  Monday, May 8 8:05pm ET
Colorado 3, Houston 1
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME LOG

HOUSTON (AP) _ Maybe Enron Field isn't such a hitters' ballpark after all. At least not when Pedro Astacio is pitching.

Astacio pitched a three-hitter and Todd Helton hit a two-run homer as the Colorado Rockies snapped a string of 22 scoreless innings with a 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Monday night.

The Astros dropped to 3-10 in their new playing field, the worst home record in baseball. But they aren't blaming it on the park. It was just good pitching by both Astacio (4-2) and loser Chris Holt (1-5).

"Chris and Pedro showed that you can pitch in this park if you move the ball in and out and change speeds you can win here," Astros first baseman Jeff Bagwell said. "We've said all along it's not the ballpark. You change speeds and hit your locations, you can win."

Astacio did that as well as any pitcher has at Enron Field this season.

"He (Astacio) changed speeds, which is what you need to do in this park," Astros manager Larry Dierker said. "Change your speeds and change your locations. Shane Reynolds has done that from time to time. Chris did it some tonight. We need to get everyone doing it."

Astacio didn't allow a hit until Richard Hidalgo's leadoff homer in the fifth, which hit the top of the left-field wall and bounced over for his 10th home run of the year.

"It doesn't matter where you pitch if you have stuff and locate your pitches," Rockies manager Buddy Bell said. "He did that. That's what big time pitchers do, they throw what they want for strikes."

Astacio, who also gave up Bill Spiers' leadoff single in the eighth and Hidalgo's single in the ninth, struck out 10, walked two and hit a batter in his first complete game this season, the 21st of his career.

"It was the best breaking pitch I've had," Astacio said. "I was throwing everything well. Most everything I threw, I threw for strikes. I didn't worry about the fences. You just have to be focused."

The Rockies didn't score in the first, tying the team record of 22 consecutive innings set from Aug. 11-14, 1996.

Colorado failed to score in the final three innings against Montreal last Wednesday, was blanked by the Giants twice, then was rained out Sunday at San Francisco.

Helton, who went 3-for-3, hit his 10th homer, in the second off Holt after Jeff Cirillo's leadoff walk.

"Pedro was the reason we won this game," Helton said. "He battled and battled and wouldn't give in. I can't say enough about the job he did. He didn't make any mistakes. He just pitched tough every pitch. That kind of performance is infectious."

The Rockies finished with only six hits, but that was enough.

Holt allowed just two more hits, leaving after Cirillo's one-out double in the eighth. He struck out six and walked three.

"It was nice to get a good start here," Holt said. "Normally three runs in this place won't hold up, but it did tonight. You just have to tip your cap to Astacio. I think I threw the ball OK. I kept the ball down. Other than that one inning, I thought it was all right."

Astacio's breaking ball impressed Bagwell, who struck out on a curve in the eighth.

"His breaking ball was as good as I've ever seen," Bagwell said. "He's definitely got his velocity back. He throws 93 and 94 miles an hour and then he throws that big fat breaking ball on the corner. That makes it tough. It probably was the best against us this year."

Notes: Astacio has seven of the 10 double-digit strikeout performances in Rockies history. It was the third three-hitter of his career, the first since Sept. 29, 1992, at Cincinnati. ... Cirillo extended his hitting streak to a career-best 14 games. ... Astros OF Moises Alou is scheduled to come off the 15-day disabled list Friday after recovering from a strained right calf. ... Helton is the only player who has appeared in all 31 games for the Rockies. ... Forty-eight homers have been hit in 13 games at Enron Field this season, an average of 3.69, with 24 by visitors and 24 by the Astros.

 


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