Astros Steal One From Brewers

The Houston Astros' once powerful offense has been forced to find creative ways to score runs.

Tim Bogar's two-out RBI single in the eighth inning gave Houston a 3-2 victory against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday night.

But for Bogar's hit to be the winner, Craig Biggio had to steal home in the third inning and pitcher Sean Bergman hit the second home run of his career in the fifth inning.

"At this point, we'll take runs anyway we can get them," Astros manager Larry Dierker said.

The Astros, who led the National League in runs scored last season, have just 10 runs in four games and are batting .213 (26-for-122). The first four hitters have a collective .146 average (7-for-48).

"That's just baseball," leadoff hitter Craig Biggio said. "Right now me and (Jeff) Bagwell just aren't swinging the bat. That will level off. Bagwell will start swinging it and so will I."

The Astros trailed 2-0 with two outs in the third when Biggio became the first Astro to steal home in nearly six years. Biggio scored when Brewers catcher Dave Nilsson tried to pick off Ken Caminiti from first.

"I just had a feeling," Biggio said. "I was coming down the baseline a little and I thought if he didn't give it a hard throw to first, if he kind of lobbed it, I was going to go."

"I got under it (tag). If I go feet first, I would have been out, but hands first, I knew I got under it. We're an aggressive team. You want to be smart and pick your spots but that's the kind of play that can jump start a team."

Milwaukee catcher Dave Nilsson, obviously didn't expect Biggio's move.

"Biggio was gambling," Nilsson said. "I don't know (if he was safe). The umpire was in a good position and he called it how he saw it."

Brewers manager Phil Garner argued the call without success.

"I thought we had im, the ball was there in time," Garner said.

Houston tied it in the fifth when pitcher Bergman homered off Scott Karl, his second career homer. It was the first home run by an Astros pitcher since Shane Reynolds against Colorado on Sept. 8, 1996.

"I'm not used to hitting home runs but I knew I tagged that one real good," Bergman said.

In the eighth inning, Bob Wickman (0-1) walked Ken Caminiti and Richard Hidalgo to open the inning. Two outs later, Bogar singled to center to give Houston a 3-2 lead.

"For us to get to the playoffs, we can't always rely on Biggio and Bagwell, the rest of us have to contribute too," Bogar said.

Scott Elarton (1-0) pitched the eighth inning for the Astros for the victory and Billy Wagner pitched the ninth for his second save.

Milwaukee took a 2-0 lead against Bergman in the third on an RBI single by Fernando Vina and an RBI double by Marquis Grissom.

Bergman, who had a career high 12 victories last season, pitched seven innings, allowing four hits and two runs.

"I'm just excited about this season," Bergman said. "I want to go out there and do what I did last year, pitch six-seven innings and stay aggressive and ahead of the hitters. I didn't always do that tonight but the defense played well behind me."

Karl, bumped from the opening day start because of a sub-par spring, allowed five hits and six walks in 5 1-3 innings.

Notes: The last Astro to steal home was Jeff Bagwell, who did it against Los Angeles on June 22, 1993. ... Bergman's other homer came on June 12, 1996 against Cincinnati. ... Karl has allowed 12 home runs to left handed batters in four seasons. ... The Astros will face three left-handers in the Brewers series. Bill Pulsipher will follow Karl on Saturday and Rafael Roque will pitch Sunday.

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