Houston, TX (Sports Network) - Carlos Lee recorded the 2,000th hit of his career in the first inning and added a solo home run later in the game to help Houston take a 7-3 win over New York in the middle portion of a three-game set.
Lee came into the game needing just one hit to reach the plateau and his first inning single accomplished that.
"Anytime you accomplish something, it's always better when you win. You can celebrate and you can have fun. It's a lot easier," said Lee about his milestone.
Bill Hall added a solo home run and two RBI while Matt Downs also hit a solo home run for the Astros, who had dropped five of six. J.A. Happ (3-4) went six innings and gave up two runs on five hits with three walks and four strikeouts to get the win.
Jose Reyes had an RBI and a run score, Daniel Murphy hit a solo home run and Justin Turner drove in the other run for the Mets, who had won three straight coming into the contest. R.A. Dickey (1-5) was tagged for six runs on 11 hits in just 5 1/3 innings for the loss.
Houston jumped on top with a four-run first inning. Michael Bourn led off with a triple and came home when Clint Barmes followed with a ground out. Back-to- back singles by Hunter Pence and Lee was followed by an RBI double from Brett Wallace. A single from Chris Johnson scored another run and Hall singled in another for a 4-0 lead.
The Mets got one back in the third as Reyes led off with a double and came home on a Turner single to make it a 4-1 game.
A leadoff homer from Murphy in the fourth made it a two-run game, but the Astros added to their lead in the sixth.
Hall led off the frame with a shot to right for his second homer of the season. Two batters later, Downs knocked a pinch-hit home run for a 6-2 advantage.
"When that six inning came, Bill [Hall] got a pitch up and away that he hit a home run on, and then another two-strike home run on a change-up down that was a pretty good pitch...You just have to fight," said Dickey.
The seventh inning see Lee club a leadoff home run for hit No. 2,001 and a 7-2 lead.
An RBI single from Reyes in the ninth accounted for the final score.
Game Notes
Happ went 1-for-2 in the game to raise his batting average to .462 on the season...Houston has won three of five from New York this season...Since winning his first start of the season, Dickey is 0-5 in his past eight starts and saw his earned run average move to 5.08 on the season.