Major League Baseball
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Pittsburgh 11, Houston 2
When: 7:05 PM ET, Monday, July 2, 2012
Where: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Temperature: 90°
Umpires: Home - Greg Gibson, 1B - Gerry Davis, 2B - Phil Cuzzi, 3B - Manny Gonzalez
Attendance: 21041


Pirates 11, Astros 2: Garrett Jones drove in four runs while falling a triple shy of the cycle as host Pittsburgh opened the four-game series with its fifth win in six contests.

Jones and Andrew McCutchen each had four hits and scored three times, Neil Walker homered and drove in three runs and Casey McGehee went 3-for-5 with two RBIs for the Pirates, whose 18 hits fell one shy of their season high.

Jones ignited a four-run fourth inning with a two-run homer, his 11th of the season, and Walker followed with his fifth blast. McCutchen and Jones hit back-to-back RBI doubles in the fifth and McGehee plated two with a two-base hit two batters later for an 8-1 lead.

After Scott Moore hit a solo shot in the sixth for Houston, Jones delivered an RBI single in the bottom half. Walker capped the scoring in the eighth with a two-run double.

James McDonald (8-3) allowed two runs and four hits over seven innings en route to his sixth win in seven decisions. The right-hander walked five and struck out four.

Jordan Lyles (2-5) lasted four innings for Houston, surrendering seven runs and nine hits while striking out six.

J.D. Martinez drove in a run and recorded two of the five hits by the Astros, who have lost five in a row.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Pirates catcher Michael McKenry went 0-for-3, ending his seven-game hitting streak. ... Pittsburgh has won four of five at PNC Park and owns a 24-13 record at home, the best mark in the National League. ... The Astros fell to a major league-worst 9-29 on the road.

Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Houston   Pittsburgh
Jordan Lyles Player James McDonald
Loss W/L Win
4.0 IP 7.0
6 Strikeouts 4
9 Hits 4
15.75 ERA 2.57
Hitting
Houston   Pittsburgh
J.D. Martinez Player Garrett Jones
2 Hits 4
1 RBI 4
0 HR 1
3 TB 8
.500 Avg .800
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Houston 5 1 9 .161 15 5 2 5 0 1
Pittsburgh 18 2 33 .462 13 8 11 1 0 1