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All Mike Lamb wanted was a chance to play. Given his third consecutive start, he took advantage.
Lamb had four hits and drove in a career-high six runs to lead Houston over the Colorado Rockies 13-7 Friday night and stop the Astros' three-game losing streak.
``I was in the American League the past three years,'' Lamb said. ``Being a bench player in the American League, you don't play unless somebody gets hurt. ... In the National League there is an opportunity for me. All a player asks for is a shot.''
Lamb, acquired March 25 from the New York Yankees, matched his career best for hits. He had a two-run single that capped a three-run first inning, an RBI triple in the fourth, a go-ahead, two-run single in the fifth and an RBI double in the ninth.
``The guy delivered every time he came up for us with runners on base,'' Houston manager Jimy Williams said. ``I'd say he made the most of his opportunity.''
Orlando Palmeiro and Craig Biggio hit two-run homers for Houston, which improved to 6-1 on the road but is just 4-6 at home.
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Brandon Duckworth (1-0) allowed four runs and five hits, winning for the first
time in three starts since last July 31.
Jason Jennings (1-2) allowed 10 runs and eight hits in five innings, and his ERA rose from 8.04 to 10.45.
Royce Clayton and Charles Johnson homered for Colorado.
Stadium workers spent nearly seven hours clearing snow and preparing the field after a spring storm dropped 4 inches of snow.
Jeff Bagwell had an RBI single in Houston's first. Colorado came back to tie it 3-all in the third on Kit Pellow's RBI double and Clayton's two-run homer.
After Lamb's triple, Colorado retied the score 4-4 in the fourth on Johnson's homer.
Houston then scored six in the fifth, taking a 6-4 lead on Lamb's single.
AP - Apr 24, 12:10 am EDT
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Brad Ausmus walked, and Johnson threw the ball trying to pick off Lance Berkman
at third on ball four. The ball went into left field for an error, and Berkman
and Lamb scored to make it 8-4. Palmeiro followed with a homer just inside the
foul pole in right.
``We didn't help ourselves in that inning,'' Colorado manager Clint Hurdle said. ``Charles made a nice block on the ball, but we couldn't put the play away.''
Biggio added a two-run homer in the eighth off Brian Fuentes.
Colorado scored three in the eighth on Vinny Castilla's RBI double, Chad Harville's wild pitch with a runner on third and Matt Holliday's run-scoringsingle.
Notes
LHP Andy Pettitte pitched a simulated game at Houston's spring training complex
in Kissimmee, Fla. ... Clayton is 17-for-49, with hits in 11 of his last 12
games. ... OF Larry Walker, on the DL with a strained groin, ransprints without
pain before the game.