Pair of singles in eighth propels Brewers; Astros lose 5th straight

MILWAUKEE -- Casey McGehee doesn't chase the limelight, but his offense is making it difficult for the rookie to hide from the glare.

McGehee singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Astros 3-2 on Friday night, sending Houston to its fifth straight loss.

With one out in the eighth, Astros manager Cecil Cooper brought in left-hander Wesley Wright (3-4) to face the left-handed batting Prince Fielder. He ruined the move by doubling into the leftfield corner. LaTroy Hawkins took over to face McGehee who hit the first pitch to right and drove in Fielder for a 3-2 lead.

"I've really been not trying to focus on stats or any kind of that stuff," he said after driving in his major league-rookie leading 59th RBI. "I'm just really trying to focus on just putting a good at bat together."

Brewers manager Ken Macha has been impressed with McGehee who has five home runs and 20 RBI over his last 18 games.

"McGehee continues to come up with big hits," he said. "It's another feather in his cap for a pretty good year."

McGehee was claimed off waivers from the Chicago Cubs last October. He played in nine games for them last season.

David Weathers (4-5) picked up the win with a scoreless eighth. Trevor Hoffman pitched the ninth for his 34th save in 37 chances.

A passed ball spoiled the Astros' 2-1 lead in the seventh as Milwaukee tied the game.

J.J. Hardy blooped a single to center off reliever Jeff Fulchino to start the inning. Jason Kendall sacrificed Hardy to second. He went to third on a passed ball and scored on Felipe Lopez's bouncer up the middle.

"Two nights ago, we had the same thing happen to us," Cooper said. "It seems like it's one of those years."

On Wednesday, Joey Votto scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the seventh inning and the Reds withstood five solo homers in a 6-5 victory over the Astros.

Miguel Tejada's run-scoring single off reliever Carlos Villanueva with two out in the sixth put the Astros ahead 2-1. Hunter Pence singled, advanced to second on Carlos Lee's hit and scored when Tejada lined to center.

Astros rookie Bud Norris started and left after five innings with a 2-1 lead. He had a career-high eight strikeouts and allowed one run on four hits.

"That's a great hitting team over there," he said. "I was able to hold them down for the most part."

Chris Narveson started for Manny Parra who missed his second consecutive start for Milwaukee with neck spasms. It was Narveson's third career start and second for the Brewers who purchased his contract on Aug. 21 from Triple-A Nashville.

He was much better than his last start Sunday at Arizona when he pitched three hitless innings, but then failed to get out of the fourth. Against the Astros, he allowed one run on four hits in five innings and left with the scored tied at 1.

Lance Berkman, the only Astro who had previously faced Narveson, led off the second with a solo shot, his 22nd homer of the season. He was back in action after being scratched from Tuesday's lineup with back spasms.

Narveson said that he tried to come inside with a cutter on Berkman, but missed.

"I put it in his happy zone," he said.

Corey Hart now has six RBI in eight games since being reinstated from the disabled list on Sept. 8 after undergoing an emergency appendectomy on Aug. 2. He tied the game in the third for Milwaukee when he drove in Lopez who had walked and took third on a wild pitch by Norris.

Game notes
RHP Yovani Gallardo's 30th start on Sunday will be his last before being shut down to keep his innings down. The 23-year-old has pitched a team-high 180 2/3 innings in his first full year of action. ... The Brewers recalled RHP Mike Burns from Triple-A Nashville. It is his fourth stint this season. ... RHP Jose Valverde is back with the team after missing the Cincinnati series with a sore throat and high fever.