Mondesi, Fogg spark Bucs to 4-2 triumph over Astros

Raul Mondesi's two-run double in the eighth won the game for the Pirates.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Pirates must be wondering where all this has been: a big hit in the late innings, an excellent start by Josh Fogg and Tike Redman generating runs on the bases.
Raul Mondesi hit a tie-breaking double in the eighth inning and Fogg shook off three consecutive terrible starts to lead the Pirates past the Houston Astros 4-2 on Wednesday night.
Mondesi ended an 0-for-17 Pirates streak with runners in scoring position with his two-run double down the left-field line off Roy Oswalt (2-1). Jack Wilson started the Pirates' eighth with a single, and Jason Kendall walked.
"I'd been looking for a curveball the entire game and I finally got it," Mondesi said. "When you get the opportunity there, you have to come through."
Stayed with Oswalt
Oswalt spent his last four innings trying to get his pitches down, but manager Jimy Williams didn't think about taking him out because he still was pitching effectively.
"It wasn't a bad pitch [to Mondesi], just a little higher than I wanted," Oswalt said. "I changed mechanics the last inning to try to get it down, but I never got it down. I spent four innings throwing chest-high."
Fogg can relate to that. He brought one of the majors' worst ERAs (17.00) into the game, before limiting Houston to two runs in seven innings. Oswalt gave up four runs and seven hits in seven-plus innings, ending a seven-game winning streak dating to last season.
"I got to see the third, fourth and fifth innings again," Fogg said. "It had been a while. It's tough when you have to wait five, six or seven days after a poor start to pitch again, but you can't get disappointed or down on yourself."
Torres gets the win
Salomon Torres (1-0) followed Fogg with a scoreless eighth for the victory, and Jose Mesa pitched the ninth for his sixth save in as many opportunities.
Mesa was helped by center fielder Redman's sliding catch on Richard Hidalgo's one-out drive into the left-center gap.
"It kept carrying and carrying, I don't know how it did it," said Redman, who also figured in each of the Pirates' first two runs. "In the late innings, you don't want to give up a double or triple there."
Fogg struck out four and walked three while lowering his ERA to 10.69 in his best start since his complete-game 9-1 victory over Cincinnati on Sept. 8.
"Certainly, we saw the pitcher we're used to seeing," manager Lloyd McClendon said. "He threw strikes, he pitched down in the strike zone, had good action on his pitches and changed speeds on his breaking stuff."
The Pirates won for only the second time in seven games on a homestand against the division-rival Cubs, Reds and Astros. Houston dropped its fifth in seven games and its second in a row on the road.
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