Apr 5, 2007 3 min read

HOUSTON (AP) – Jose Bautista drove in three runs to help the Pittsburgh Pirates erase a two-run deficit and rally for a 5-4 win over the Houston Astros on Wednesday night. Pittsburgh, which opened last season with three straight losses, is 3-0 for the first time since 2003 and left town with its first three-game sweep in Houston since 1991.

In the first two games, the Pirates waited until late in the game to rally for the win. This time, they took the lead with a four-run fifth inning and held on for the victory.

Tom Gorzelanny (1-0) allowed seven hits and three runs with four strikeouts in five innings for the win.

Shawn Chacon pitched two perfect innings before Matt Capps retired three straight batters in the eighth. Salomon Torres, who went 12-for-12 in save chances last year, pitched the ninth – allowing Craig Biggio’s two-out homer – for his third save in as many nights.

Ronny Paulino got an RBI double in the fifth when Chris Burke couldn’t get to his hit that landed on the hill in center field. Burke had a chance to redeem himself with Xavier Nady batting next, but the ball bounced out of his glove and Nady advanced to second.

Bautista then drove in two runs with his single to center field that put Pittsburgh ahead 4-3.

With two outs in fifth, Astros starter Woody Williams (0-1) was replaced by Dave Borkowski.

The Pirates stretched their lead to 5-3 when Chris Duffy’s grounder bounced off Adam Everett’s glove and the shortstop chased down the ball, but accidentally kicked it and couldn’t scoop it up on his first try. By the time Everett could handle the ball, Bautista had scored.

Everett, who had just seven errors in 2006, was charged with two errors on the play.

It wasn’t quite the homecoming Williams, who grew up in Houston and said his lifelong dream was to play for the Astros, was looking for. The 40-year-old allowed eight hits and five runs, three earned, and hit two batters in 4 2-3 innings. The loss, in his 300th career start, breaks a five-game winning streak dating to September with the Padres.

In the third, Biggio and Burke hit back-to-back singles before Biggio scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by Lance Berkman that put Houston ahead 2-1. Biggio had three hits Wednesday to put him 66 hits shy of 3,000 in his career.

Carlos Lee’s RBI single to center field in the first put the Astros ahead 1-0. Bautista’s run-scoring double in the second tied it at 1.

Houston other run came in the fourth inning when Gorzelanny hit Burke with a pitch with the bases loaded.

NOTES: Third baseman Morgan Ensberg got hit on his left wrist by a grounder in the sixth. He appeared to be in pain and television shots showed a red mark, but he remained in the game.