Surging Astros defeat Pirates, 3-2

HOUSTON (AP) — Pinch-hitter Mark Saccomanno homered on the first pitch he saw in the major leagues to help the surging Houston Astros beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 on Monday night.

Saccomanno hit a solo shot in the fifth inning, becoming the fourth Houston player to homer in his first big league plate appearance. The Astros have won three straight and 11 of 12 to move 10 games over .500 for the first time this season.

Called up from the minors earlier in the day to help fill in for injured third baseman Ty Wigginton, Saccomanno batted for pitcher Alberto Arias in a scoreless game and connected off Ian Snell.

It triggered a three-run inning for the Astros. The next four batters got hits, including RBI singles by Miguel Tejada and Lance Berkman.

The last Houston player to homer in his first career plate appearance was Charlton Jimerson on Sept. 4, 2006, at Philadelphia.

Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson will likely miss the remainder of the season because of a hairline fracture in his right index finger.

The Pirates on Monday said Wilson will not be placed on the disabled and they hope he could be available late in the season as a pinch-hitter or pinch-runner.

“We’ll just see what he’s able to do,” Pirates manager John Russell said.

“The key to the situation is that he doesn’t want to re-injure it. So taking groundballs at short isn’t the right thing to do.”

Wilson, who missed the last six games, injured the finger Aug. 31 while fielding a ball against Milwaukee. It was believed to be just a bruise then.

Wilson was batting .274 with a home run and 22 RBIs in 299 at-bats this season. He missed about two months with a strained left calf.