Major League Baseball
Houston 9, Arizona 2
When: 7:10 PM ET, Saturday, August 1, 2015
Where: Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas
Temperature: Indoors
Umpires: Home - CB Bucknor, 1B - Dale Scott, 2B - Dan Iassogna, 3B - Lance Barrett
Attendance: 36602

HOUSTON -- Expectations are that Houston Astros rookie shortstop Carlos Correa will have numerous multi-homer games in his future; and, with the way Astros catcher Hank Conger has been mashing of late, power performances might also become expected events from him as well.

Conger and Correa each produced their first multi-homer games while ace right-hander Dallas Keuchel set a club record for durability as the Houston Astros squared their interleague series with the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 9-2 victory at Minute Maid Park.

Conger clubbed his seventh and eighth homers and Correa hit Nos. 11 and 12 to account for the Astros' four homers and eight of the nine RBIs.

Houston (59-46) hammered three homers off Arizona right-hander Jeremy Hellickson (7-7) in snapping the Diamondbacks' six-game winning streak. The Astros lead the majors with 147 homers and improved to 38-6 in the 44 games in which they've hit multiple homers.

"It's not a secret we've got a great team," said Correa, who finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs. "We've got one of the best teams in baseball and we're going to go out there and compete. We know we have a great lineup. From one to nine, we know we can all hit, so it's not surprising that everybody in our lineup can hit."

Arizona (50-52) led 2-1 in the second inning after an RBI single from catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and a bases-loaded walk by center fielder Ender Inciarte. But the Diamondbacks fizzled quickly against Keuchel (13-5), who set a franchise record by working at least six innings for a 33rd consecutive start (snapping a tie with Brett Myers). Keuchel allowed two runs on two hits and three walks while striking out eight.

"When you have your shot against those No. 1 pitchers like that, you have to get it," Arizona manager Chip Hale said. "When you only get two (runs) out of that, it's not enough. When you've got them on the ropes, you've got to knock them out. Like a good No. 1, he came back and was really, really good after that."

The first Conger home run -- a first-pitch, leadoff blast to right field in the third inning -- pulled Houston even at 2-2. It was the Astros' second homer of the game, following a solo shot from Correa in the first inning.

A more decisive blast followed an inning later with Conger at the plate.

Hellickson retired the first batter in the fourth before coming undone. Four consecutive batters reached base ahead of Conger, including first baseman Chris Carter, whose bases-loaded walk pushed home designated hitter Evan Gattis and nudged Houston in front 3-2.

Four pitches into his second at-bat, Conger homered again, smashing his first career grand slam off the facing of the upper deck in right field. Somewhat surprisingly, it was the Astros' first grand slam this season.

"I thought we hit a couple (grand slams previously), to be quite honest," said Conger, who finished 3-for-4 with five RBIs. "We hit a lot of homers, so I kind of figured we had a grand slam in there. But somebody told me after the game, and I was kind of shocked."

Hellickson allowed seven runs (six earned), seven hits and two walks, with two strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings -- his shortest outing of 2015.

"If I make better pitches, they're not going to hit home runs," Hellickson said. "There were just a lot of bad pitches in bad counts. They play for that two- or three-run homer, and that's what they got today."

NOTES: RHP Mike Fiers will make his Astros debut on Tuesday night against the Texas Rangers. Acquired via trade from the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday, Fiers will be activated on Sunday. ... Diamondbacks RHP Chase Anderson will make a rehab start of four innings, or 60 pitches, for the AZL D-backs on Sunday and could be activated from the 15-day disabled list soon after. Anderson, on the disabled list since July 19 because of right triceps inflammation, might replace rookie RHP Zack Godley, who will start against the Nationals on Monday. Godley has compiled 101 1/3 innings this season, nearly twice that of his previous professional high of 55 1/3 set last season. ... Diamondbacks OF A.J. Pollock sat out Saturday night because of soreness behind his left knee and probably will miss the series finale against Houston on Sunday. Pollock experienced discomfort on Friday night and was lifted for a pinch runner after his single in the seventh inning.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Arizona   Houston
Jeremy Hellickson Player Dallas Keuchel
Loss W/L Win
3.1 IP 6.0
2 Strikeouts 8
7 Hits 2
16.20 ERA 3.00
Hitting
Arizona   Houston
Aaron Hill Player Hank Conger
1 Hits 3
0 RBI 5
0 HR 2
1 TB 9
.250 Avg .750
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Arizona 2 0 2 .067 9 11 2 4 0 1
Houston 14 4 28 .389 17 4 9 2 0 1