NL Wrap: Rookie Helps Pirates Hand Astros a Loss
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Rookie John Van Benschoten pitched  eight strong innings to seize his first major league victory,  powering the Pittsburgh Pirates past the Houston Astros 6-1 in  the National League (NL) Friday.
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Aubrey Huff hit a three-run home run in his Houston debut and Lance Berkman had three hits to lead the Astros to a 5-1 victory over the Florida Marlins on Thursday night.
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ATLANTA - The Houston Astros broke out the bats to back up Roger Clemens, hitting three home runs on the way to a 9-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of the NLDS on Wednesday.
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NEW YORK (Sports Network) - Outfielder Jason Bay became the  first Pittsburgh Pirate to win the National League Rookie of  the Year, as he was voted the honor on Monday.
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Wandy Rodriguez threw a four-hitter for his first complete game and Lance Berkman had a two-run homer to lead the Houston Astros to a 4-0 win over the New York Mets on Friday night.
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So much for Cecil Cooper's managerial debut with the Houston Astros. Chris Duncan shook off an August slump with a three-run homer and an RBI single to help the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Astros 7-0 on Tuesday night, ruining Cooper's first game as Phil Garner's successor.
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Lance Berkman and Carlos Beltran hit two-run homers Wednesday to propel Houston to a 9-3 win over Atlanta in the opener of their NL Division Series.
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Shane Youman earned his first major league victory by limiting the Milwaukee Brewers to two runs over six innings yesterday in the Piratesâ 6-2 win in Pittsburgh.
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The home run was very important. The run home by Jason Bay was better still. Bay became the first Pirates player in 50 years to homer in five consecutive games, then ran over Houston catcher Eric Munson to score the winning run on Jose Bautista&#039;s short sacrifice fly in the 18th inning as Pittsburgh beat the Astros 8-7 Saturday night.
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The Houston Astros had just enough offense and plenty of defense to beat the St. Louis Cardinals. Mike Lamb homered in the first inning and Lance Berkman made two pinpoint throws from right field in the Astros&#039; 4-2 victory Thursday night, their fifth win in six games.
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ATLANTA - The Houston Astros got a break when illness prevented Roger Clemens from pitching as scheduled in the team's NL wild-card berth clincher. Because Clemens missed Sunday's game, the Rocket started against the Atlanta Braves in the NL division series opener Wednesday...
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Roy Oswalt became the NL&#39;s first 19-game winner, and the Houston Astros stayed close in the wild-card race with a 10-3 victory over the St.
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Adam LaRoche's three-run homer triggered a five-run 15th inning and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat Houston 8-3 on Friday night to move ahead of the Astros and out of the cellar in the NL Central.
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Roy Oswalt and two relievers combined on a five-hitter, and Raul Chavez hit a three-run double in the Houston Astros' 5-0 victory over the free-falling Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night.
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Shaun Chacon limited Atlanta to one run in five innings to win his Pittsburgh debut, pitching the Pirates to a 3-2 victory Thursday and preventing a sweep by the Braves.
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Roy Oswalt became the National League's first 17-game winner and the Astros extended their winning streak to 11 games with a 9-7 victory over the Cincinnati Reds last night in Houston.
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Freddy Sanchez got three hits and raised his NL-leading batting average to .342 and Ian Snell struck out 10, sending the Pittsburgh Pirates past the Milwaukee Brewers 6-3 Wednesday in the first game of a doubleheader.