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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
HOUSTON (AP) -- Mark Kotsay decided Ryan Klesko had carried the San Diego Padres long enough.
|  | | Mark Kotsay, who homered in the first, carried the Padres with his bat. |
Kotsay went 4-for-5 and hit an RBI single with two outs in the ninth inning as the San Diego Padres beat the Houston Astros 7-6 Wednesday for their fifth straight victory.
Kotsay, who homered earlier, helped San Diego complete a
three-game sweep. San Diego is 6-0 at Enron Field since its opening
last season. His go-ahead hit came off Billy Wagner (3-2).
"I think I faced him maybe two times," Kotsay said of Wagner. "It's never fun for a left-handed hitter to face him. I was just trying to stay in. He left a slider out. I'm sure it's a pitch he'd want back."
Houston scored twice in the eighth to make it 6-all, setting the
stage for the Padres. Prior to Kotsay's big hit in the ninth,
pinch-runner Adam Riggs was thrown out at the plate trying to score
on Ben Davis' double.
"He's (Kotsay) been playing well, we're a different team when
he's in the lineup," Padres manager Bruce Bochy said. "He does a
great job for us all the way around."
Klesko, who hit .463 in the series, went 2-for-5 and extended his hitting streak to 10 games.
"This is a team effort, we're all pulling this thing," Klesko
said. "Awhile back, I was having a rough time and Phil (Nevin) and
some of the other guys were pulling us through."
Jay Witasick (3-2), who got his first career save Tuesday night,
pitched the eighth for the victory. The Padres have won seven of
eight.
Trevor Hoffman pitched the ninth for San Diego, picking up his
ninth save in 10 chances. He struck out Richard Hidalgo with
runners on first and third to end the game.
The Padres won for the seventh time in eight games and Wagner
gave the offense plenty of credit.
"I was impressed with two guys, Klesko and Kotsay, they killed
us in this series," Wagner said. "Nothing against the rest of the
guys, they've got a good team, but those two really did the most
damage."
Pitcher Kevin Jarvis hit his first career home run and
Klesko drove in two runs with a pair of doubles, giving San Diego a
6-4 lead going into the bottom of the eighth.
Lance Berkman walked with one out in the Astros' eighth and
Moises Alou got a check-swing single. Witasick relieved Tom Davey,
and Hidalgo and Vinny Castilla hit RBI singles to tie it.
Jarvis broke a 1-1 tie when he led off the third inning by
hitting Kent Bottenfield's first pitch over the right-field fence.
A double by Klesko, a grounder by Nevin and Wiki Gonzalez's double gave the Padres three more runs and a 5-1 lead in the third.
Kotsay's third homer of the season gave San Diego a 1-0 lead in the first.
Klesko doubled home the Padres' sixth run off Jay Powell in the seventh.
Jeff Bagwell hit his 13th homer in the first inning for Houston.
Alou had a two-run double in the fourth and Craig Biggio hit an RBI double in the fifth.
"The starting pitching and the hitting were not what we'd like
to see during this series," Astros manager Larry Dierker said. "I
feel like we're close to starting to get going. One of the problems
is we're sort of a one-dimensional offense."
Game notes
Bruce Bochy managed his 1,000th game for the Padres. ...
Astros infielder Bill Spiers will begin rehab work next week after
undergoing back surgery to remove a cyst and disc from his lower
back. He's set no timetable for a comeback. ... Klesko's four
two-homer games are three short of the club record of seven held by
Ken Caminiti (1996) and Greg Vaughn (1998).
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RECAPS
Seattle 5
Minnesota 4
Baltimore 12
Anaheim 5
Cleveland 4
Detroit 3
NY Yankees 7
Boston 3
Toronto 9
Chi. White Sox 6
Tampa Bay 10
Texas 6
Kansas City 4
Oakland 1
Chicago Cubs 4
Cincinnati 2
Los Angeles 6
Colorado 4
San Diego 7
Houston 6
Philadelphia 4
Pittsburgh 0
Philadelphia 5
Pittsburgh 2
(2nd game)
Atlanta 0
Florida 0
NY Mets 4
Montreal 2
Milwaukee 7
St. Louis 3
San Francisco 5
Arizona 1
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