Title: 
Houston Astros vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

Word Count:
446

Summary:
The Houston Astros got back on track Friday night behind an unlikely standout and the return of an old one.


Keywords:
MLB, baseball, sportsbetting, online sportsbook


Article Body:
PNC Park

The Houston Astros got back on track Friday night behind an unlikely standout and the return of an old one. Adam Everett hit a two-out, three-run double in the eighth inning and closer Brad Lidge retired three straight in the ninth to get the save in the Houston Astros' 5-3 victory over the Texas Rangers.

It was about time for the Houston Astros to get a victory. It was a much needed one because after the sweep they suffered at home the players weren’t that motivated. With the victory at least the Astros got a little boost in their morale to continue fighting for that first place in their division.

"I was just trying to prolong the inning and get the next guy up there," said Everett, who bats eighth. "It's one of those at-bats that I'll always remember because it was my first game-winning hit. That's pretty exciting."

Oswalt pitched 6 strong innings allowing a season high 11 hits, but with all that he did a pretty good job and got the victory fro m the Rangers.

Lineup

1. Willy Taveras, CF. 2.Craig Biggio, 2nd B. 3. Lance Berkman, RF. 4.Morgan Ensberg, 3rd B. 5. Mike Lamb, 1st B. 6. Brad Ausmus, C. 7.Preston Wilson, LF. 8. Adam Everett, SS. 9.Roy Oswalt, P.

Meanwhile the Pittsburgh Pirates suffered a loss against a very focus and talented Indians team lead by C.C Sabathia. The Pirates went down 4-1 on Friday night. “The way (Sabathia) was throwing, it felt like we were down by 10," said Pirates left fielder Jason Bay, who went 0-for-3 with a strikeout and had a 10-game hitting streak stopped.

Zach Duke pitched 7 innings for the Pirates; he got 4 hits, 3 runs and 3 errors that cost them a lot. Duke allowed only one hit over his final six innings but lost his third consecutive start. He issued two walks in both the fourth and fifth innings but escaped those jams in his first career start against an AL team. The left-hander walked six and struck out six over seven innings.

"I made bad pitches in the first inning, but I was very happy with the way I pitched after that," Duke said.

This week the Pirates match-up against the Astros and they have the opportunity to add some victories that will do a lot of good to this team that’s struggling in NL Central. So if you like a sport betting this is a good opportunity to bet in what many expect to be a very exciting game.

Lineup

1. Jose Bautista, CF. 2.Jack Wilson, SS. 3.Freddy Sanchez, 3rd B. 4. Jason Bay, LF. 5. Craig Wilson, 1st B. 6. Ryan Doumit, DH. 7. Jeromy Burnitz, RF. 8.Ronny Paulino, C. 9.Jose Castillo, 2nd B.