Game Recap

Biggio's homer in ninth sinks Phillies again

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- David Bell and Willy Taveras gave the Houston Astros life, and Craig Biggio made Billy Wagner and the Phladelphia Phillies pay.

Biggio belted a three-run homer off Wagner with two outs in the ninth inning as the Astros posted a wild 8-6 victory over the Phillies.

Philadelphia appeared on the verge of snapping its 11-game losing streak to Houston when it rallied for three runs in the eighth. Bobby Abreu hit a game-tying, two-run homer and rookie Shane Victorino recorded his first hit in over two years - a bases-loaded RBI single - later in the inning to give the Phillies a 6-5 lead.

Wagner (4-3), who allowed a ninth-inning run in a 2-1 defeat Wednesday to his former team, entered in the ninth and got the first two outs easily before the wheels fell off.

Jose Vizcaino hit a bouncer that third baseman Bell booted for his 19th error of the season. Bell also put an end to Philadelphia's uprising in the eighth when he was thrown out at the plate by a wide margin on Victorino's single.

Taveras, one of the fastest players in the major leagues, then legged out a grounder to shortstop for his third hit of the game, setting the stage for Biggio. The Astros' second baseman deposited a 1-1 fastball deep into the left field seats for his 20th homer of the season and an 8-6 edge.

Chad Qualls (5-4) picked up the win after getting the final two outs in the eighth and closer Brad Lidge worked a perfect ninth for his 35th save as the Astros completed a second consecutive season sweep against a National League opponent for the first time in club history.

Lance Berkman doubled, homered and scored three runs and Mike Lamb - who was filling in for an injured Morgan Ensberg - added a three-run homer in the sixth for Houston.

Ryan Howard belted a two-run shot in the second inning to give the Phillies a 2-1 advantage - their first lead in six games against the Astros this season.

Jimmy Rollins had three hits to extend his career-high hitting streak to 14 games for Philadelphia, which lost its fifth straight and fell 2 1/2 games behind first-place Houston in the NL wild card chase.