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HOUSTON (AP) – Wade Miller didn't have his best stuff. It turned out to be good enough for the Houston Astros. Miller pitched seven strong innings and Chris Truby hit a go-ahead two-run triple in the sixth inning to lead the Houston Astros to a 6-4 victory over the Florida Marlins on Saturday. He used some positive words from catcher Brad Ausmus to get through his outing. "I wasn't as sharp as I have been, so I just had to get by with what I had," Miller said. "Brad told me I wasn't overpowering and my curve wasn't as sharp, but I had enough to get them out. "That gave me the confidence to get through." Miller (4-1) was forced to rely on his fastball. "He pitched a great game," Astros manager Larry Dierker said. "He didn't have good command with his breaking pitch so he pitched the game with his fastball. He moved the ball around, but he kept it in the strike zone. So he must have had good movement." Miller allowed five hits, two runs, walked five and struck out four, but watched anxiously as the Marlins fell short in their rally in the ninth against closer Billy Wagner. With the Marlins trailing 6-2, Alex Gonzalez led off with a double, and pinch-hitter Kevin Millar followed with an RBI double. Millar moved to third on Brad Ausmus' passed ball and Luis Castillo walked. After Eric Owens struck out, Castillo stole second and Floyd grounded out to drive in Millar and make it 6-4. Wagner walked Preston Wilson and Mike Lowell to load the bases, but got Dave Berg to pop out to center to end it. "Today was difficult and I don't know why. I had my good stuff," Wagner said. "Those first two guys just hit good pitches. I'm ready to go out there tomorrow." Trailing 2-1, the Astros rallied in the sixth off Ryan Dempster (2-3), who had held them to one unearned run. Dempster walked Lance Berkman and Moises Alou followed with a run-scoring double. Dempster then hit Richard Hidalgo with a pitch and Truby hit his triple to the warning track in right-center field to give the Astros a 4-2 lead. "It was nice to get a couple of RBIs," Truby said. "I had a couple of misplays earlier and one of them led to a run. Berkman hit a two-out, two-run homer in the seventh to extend Houston's lead to 6-2. Alou extended his hitting streak to four games by going 3-for-4, and is hitting .565 during the stretch. Miller retired the first seven batters before a wild streak cost him a run in the third. He walked Gonzalez, struck out Dempster and walked Castillo before Owens had an RBI single. "We didn't see either of these guys at their best, but they are the new wave of outstanding pitchers in the league," Marlins manager John Boles said. "I think Dempster and Miller are two marquee pitchers. "Neither of these guys were as good as they can be but you're looking at two guys who are going to be stars at this level." Owens went 1-for-4 and his hitting .565 at Enron Field during the past two seasons. A two-out error by third baseman Truby preceded a run-scoring double by Mike Richmond in the fourth. An error by shortstop Gonzalez allowed Julio Lugo to score from second base for the Astros' first run in the third. Dempster, who lost his third straight decision, struck out five and walked two over 6 2/3 innings. "They did a really good job of hitting any mistakes I made," Dempster said. "Moises hit a fastball that was up. Truby hit a ball that was a little bit up and so did Berkman, but they were all good pitches." Game notesThe Marlins are 2-7 in one-run games following Friday's 9-8 victory. ... Dempster hasn't had hit since last Sept. 7 against the Astros. ... Craig Biggio needs six hits to become the first batter in franchise history to get 2,000 career hits.  Send this story to a friend
| RECAPS Kansas City 8 Boston 2
Houston 6
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