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BOX SCORE
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GAME LOG
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Jeff Bagwell has great stats, yet nowhere to go in October. He'd much rather have average stats and a chance to play in the postseason again.
|  | | Jeff Bagwell, right, cranked home run No. 46 Wednesday, a new career-high. |
Bagwell hit his career-high 46th home run and drove in four runs as the Astros beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 10-1 Wednesday night.
"My job is not to put up big stats, it's to help us win baseball games," Bagwell said. "If I hit a certain stat that helps us get to the playoffs, that's all that matters to me. But it's not, 'Hey, I hit 70 home runs and we didn't win anything.'
"Even Mark McGwire said that. It's great that you hit 70 and it's awesome and all that, but the bottom line is we're here to win
games," he said.
Bagwell's three-run homer in the fifth came off Jimmy Anderson
(5-11), two innings after Tim Bogar hit Houston's first
inside-the-park homer of the season.
Bagwell has 131 RBI and has scored 151 runs. The last major
leaguer to score 150 runs in a season was Ted Williams in 1949.
"That's hard to fathom," Bagwell said. "I never feel like I'm
in that category. Those are icons of the game. I'm very
appreciative, but it's hard for me to even relate to that."
Tony McKnight (4-1) held the Pirates to four hits for his first
complete game, winning his fourth consecutive decision. He struck
out seven and walked one. It was the Astros' eighth complete game.
"We gave the bullpen a night off and we haven't had many of those," manager Larry Dierker said. "He seemed to be able to hit either side of the plate whenever he wanted to. You look at the radar gun and he wasn't overpowering but he was always away from
the middle of the strike zone."
Anderson opened the game by walking two hitters. Bagwell drove
in one run with a fielder's choice and Richard Hidalgo doubled in
the second to stretch his hitting streak to 10 games.
Bogar was credited with his second career inside-the-park home
run in the fourth on a play mishandled at both ends.
Left fielder Brian Giles ranged far into left-center, only to
have Bogar's ball hit off his glove. Shortstop Pat Meares' relay to
the plate beat Bogar, but catcher Jason Kendall missed the ball while trying to make a swipe tag.
Mitch Meluskey had a two-run double in the eighth off Jeff
Wallace and scored on Chris Truby's single.
John Vander Wal led off the Pirates' second with his 24th home
run.
The Astros have won 10 of 12 against the Pirates this season.
"Every year it seems like a certain team has your number,"
Vander Wal said. "They've really had our number. They've had their
way with us all year. They've beaten us up."
Game notes
Morgan Ensberg singled in the Astros ninth for his first
major league hit. He pinch-hit for Bagwell. ... McKnight was chased
in the second inning of a Sept. 15 start against the Pirates in
Houston. He allowed five runs in 1 1-3 innings of that game. ...
Wednesday marked the first time in 13 games that the Pirates did
not lead at some point. ... Anderson finished his season with one
win in 10 starts.
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ALSO SEE
Baseball Scoreboard
Houston Clubhouse
Pittsburgh Clubhouse
RECAPS
Oakland 9
Anaheim 7
Toronto 4
Baltimore 0
Cleveland 8
Minnesota 2
Tampa Bay 11
NY Yankees 1
Boston 2
Chi. White Sox 1
Kansas City 3
Detroit 0
Seattle 6
Texas 4
Florida 6
Montreal 3
Houston 10
Pittsburgh 1
NY Mets 6
Atlanta 2
Chicago Cubs 1
Philadelphia 0
Milwaukee 10
Cincinnati 6
Colorado 6
Arizona 4
San Francisco 4
Los Angeles 0
St. Louis 3
San Diego 0
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