Apr 27, 2007 4 min read

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Phil Garner won a World Series playing for Pittsburgh and managed in the All-Star game there last summer. Right now, the Houston manager probably isn’t excited about returning to the city where he has enjoyed some of his best moments in baseball. Jason Bay’s two-run single in the sixth inning off Wandy Rodriguez gave the Pirates a 5-3 victory Thursday over Houston and their second three-game sweep of the Astros this season.

Barely 12 hours after the Astros left 18 runners on base during a 4-3, 16-inning loss to the Pirates, they stranded 13 and played sloppily in the field with two errors during Pittsburgh’s go-ahead sixth inning against Rodriguez (0-3). The Astros have lost six in a row, including a 3-0 defeat Tuesday in which they were limited to three singles, and went 3-6 during a four-city road trip.

“It’s good to be going home,” said Garner, whose team begins a six-game homestand Friday. “We just lost our offense. We had some good games but we also had some games we didn’t appear too focused on.”

Houston pushed across two runs in the ninth but John Grabow bailed out closer Salomon Torres by getting Adam Everett to ground into a forceout at second with the bases loaded to end the game.

It was Grabow’s first save since 2004.

The Pirates are 6-0 against the Astros this season after going 3-13 last season and have swept successive series for the first time since 1979 – when Garner was the second baseman on Pittsburgh’s World Series-winning team. The Pirates also swept a season-opening series in Houston from April 2-4.

“It was good to get the sweep, that’s for sure,” said manager Jim Tracy, whose Pirates are 10-10 after being 5-15 a year ago. “There has been some dramatic improvement, and I know there’s more to come. I know we’re a better offensive team than we’ve shown so far.”

For a change, the two teams had a relatively normal game with no long rain delays or extra innings.

Jose Castillo, who entered the game during a double switch in the top of the sixth, singled and Chris Duffy drew one of two walks by Rodriguez. With one out, Freddy Sanchez reached as third baseman Mike Lamb – possibly distracted by Castillo running toward third – misplayed his grounder. Bay’s opposite-field single scored Castillo and Duffy, with Sanchez moving to third on the play when right fielder Luke Scott mishandled the ball.

Jonah Bayliss (2-1) got the victory by pitching two scoreless but adventuresome innings, working out of a bases-loaded, none-out jam in the sixth by getting Rodriguez to ground into a double play. Garner might have hit for Rodriguez if his bullpen had been rested. In the seventh, Carlos Lee grounded into an inning-ending double play with runners on first and second.

The Pirates added three runs in the eighth when pinch-hitter Xavier Nady was hit by reliever Chad Qualls’ pitch with the bases loaded and Ryan Doumit added a two-run single. Doumit played in Indianapolis on Wednesday night, then learned about 2 a.m. he would be flying to Pittsburgh to catch 10 hours later because of Humberto Cota’s shoulder injury.

“I’m going on emotion right now,” he said.

NOTES: Grabow missed most of spring training and the first three weeks of the season with a sore elbow before being activated Tuesday. … The Astros finished 8-7 during a stretch that saw them play 13 of 15 games on the road. … Astros 2B Craig Biggio sat out after having five hits in the first two games of the series. Loretta filled in and went 4-for-4 with a walk. … Jose Bautista’s 12-game hitting streak for Pittsburgh ended when he struck out twice.