Paulino leads Astros over Tigers 8-1

HOUSTON - Houston manager Cecil Cooper thought Felipe Paulino could develop into a good pitcher for the Astros.

But even he was a bit surprised at just how good the rookie right-hander was Saturday night.

Paulino pitched seven solid innings and the Astros used a five-run third to pull away from the Detroit Tigers for an 8-1 victory.

It was Houston's third straight win and gave the Astros the series victory in this interleague matchup which ends Sunday.

Paulino kept the Tigers off-balance with an array of pitches including a fastball that was routinely clocked at 97 mph. He struck out a career-high nine and allowed three hits and one run - a homer to Ramon Santiago in the third inning.

"He was pretty dominant right from the start," Cooper said. "That's what we always thought that he could do, perhaps not nine punchouts and three hits, but a dominating performance. That was really oustanding."

The 25-year-old Paulino (2-4) came off the disabled list for the start. It's his first win as a starter after getting his other victory this season as a reliever.

"I tried not to think of anything negative," said Paulino, who hadn't played since injuring his groin June 7. "I just tried to understand that I'm fine, I'm healthy and I'm going to be aggressive. That's what I did. I came out aggressively and forget what happened two weeks ago."

Santiago was impressed with Paulino.

"He was consistently at 97, 96, the whole game," he said. "He threw a really sharp slider and he was really good with the fastball. He was really strong."

Detroit starter Alfredo Figaro (1-1), didn't fare as well in his second major league start as he did in his first. He allowed 10 hits and eight runs in six innings after winning his first start by striking out seven and giving up just two runs.

"Sometimes you are going to have a bad game, but they have all been telling me to keep my head up," he said. "There is nothing you can do about it. These things are going to happen."

Houston led 2-1 in the third before a double by Lance Berkman scored Jeff Keppinger and Miguel Tejada. Hunter Pence followed with an RBI double before Kaz Matsui hit a two-run homer that landed in the first row of the right-field stands.

Paulino didn't allow a hit until Santiago's homer with one out in the third inning that made it 2-1. He gave up a pair of singles with one out in the fourth before retiring his last eight batters.

With Santiago's homer, the Tigers have had at least one home run in 11 straight games, their longest streak since August of 2000.

Jeff Fulchino pitched a scoreless eighth and Wesley Wright did the same in the ninth for the Astros.

Carlos Lee had a run-scoring single in the first inning to put Houston ahead 1-0. Michael Bourn's RBI single in the second pushed Houston's lead to 2-0.

The Astros added a run in the sixth inning on groundout by Keppinger.

Detroit catcher Gerald Laird left in the first inning with lower back spasms after chasing a ball that bounced in the dirt and is listed as day-to-day.

"As soon as I went to grab the ball and I stood up to look, I don't know if I got up too quick, but I felt my back just lock up," Laird said.

Laird said he spent the rest of the game receiving treatment and felt much better.

NOTES: Astros C Ivan Rodriguez was honored in a pregame ceremony, celebrating him becoming the career leader in games caught. Rodriguez reached the milestone of 2,227 games on June 17 in Arlington. Bob Boone, who was second on the list with 2,225 before Rodriguez passed both he and Carlton Fisk for the title, attended the ceremony. Tigers manager Jim Leyland thinks Rodriguez will reach another milestone before he retires: 3,000 hits. The 37-year-old Rodriguez has 2,658 hits and said reaching 3,000 is his goal. "I've been very blessed that I've been having a lot of awards and records and played this many games, but to be able to reach 3,000 hits as a catcher is tremendous because the position and all the hard work that you do and everybody does behind the plate," he said. ... Astros INF Geoff Blum, on the DL with a strained hamstring, will be activated for Sunday's game and INF Edwin Maysonet will be optioned to Triple-A Round Rock.

Blanks leads Padres past Rangers 7-3

ARLINGTON - Even without much help from slugger Adrian Gonzalez, the San Diego Padres had one of their best offensive games of 2009.

Rookie Kyle Blanks drove in three runs and the Padres had a season-high 16 hits, beating the Texas Rangers 7-3 Saturday night.

The Nos. 5-9 hitters were 12 for 22 and scored six runs for San Diego. Blanks, who was called up from Triple-A Portland last week, keyed two big innings for the lowest-scoring team in baseball with run-scoring doubles.

"It was a collective effort," Padres manager Bud Black said. "When you knock out 16 hits, a lot of guys are doing good things."

Gonzalez, who is second in the majors with 24 home runs, was 1 for 5 with a single in the ninth. The Padres first baseman had protection behind him as Kevin Kouzmanoff and Chase Headley each had three hits.

Blanks had the first RBI of his career with a double in the second. The 6-foot-6, 285-pound left fielder added a two-run double in the fifth that gave San Diego a 6-1 advantage.

Blanks was 2 for 16 with six strikeouts coming into the game.

"It's nice to see all the work and practice pay off," Blanks said. "I was getting good swings at good pitches."

The Rangers dropped out of the first place for the first time since May 5. They are a half-game behind the Los Angeles Angels in the American League West.

Rookie Derek Holland (1-5) allowed 13 hits and seven runs in 5 2-3 innings as Texas had its three-game winning streak snapped.

The 22-year-old Holland, making the sixth start of his career, was coming off one of the best performances of the season when he gave up just one run in seven innings against San Francisco last Saturday.

"The only thing that hurts is those hits found holes," Holland said. "There's nothing I can do about that."

Kevin Correia (5-5) struck out a career-high nine in seven innings, his fifth straight start pitching at least six innings. The right-hander's previous high strikeout game was eight against Atlanta on August 10, 2005.

Correia is 3-1 with a 2.41 ERA over his last five starts.

"We faced a pitcher that was on," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "We ended up scratching out three runs. Sometimes you have to tip your hat to the other pitcher."

The Padres snapped a three-game losing streak and won for the fourth time in 22 interleague games dating to last season.

San Diego, which has scored 284 runs this season, had only four hits in a 12-2 loss Friday. The Padres broke out in the second by scoring three runs on five straight hits.

Kouzmanoff and Headley singled with one out. Blanks doubled off the wall in left to bring home Kouzmanoff. Henry Blanco and Everth Cabrera followed with RBI singles to give San Diego a 3-0 lead.

"We hit the ball well tonight," Kouzmanoff said. "We strung some hits together. We were able to execute with runners in scoring position and get them in."

David Eckstein had an RBI double in the fourth to extend San Diego's lead to 4-1. He added another run-scoring double in the sixth.

With two men on in the fifth, Blanks hit a grounder underneath Young's glove at third into the left-field corner to make it 6-1.

Correia, who allowed three runs and five hits, needed only 11 pitches in a spotless first inning. He struck out the side in the fifth before giving up back-to-back RBI doubles to Young and Jones in the sixth.

Texas first baseman Chris Davis hit his 15th homer of the season.

NOTES: Rangers C Taylor Teagarden was scratched from the lineup with a stomach virus. ... San Diego RHP Josh Banks will start Tuesday night's game against Houston. LHP Wade LeBlanc was originally scheduled to make the start but he was optioned to Triple-A Portland on Friday. .... Texas SS Omar Vizquel, who became the all-time Venezuelan hit leader Thursday, is donating the jersey from the record-setting game to the Hall of Fame. ... Holland struck out a career-high eight. ... The temperature was 100 degrees at first pitch for the second day in a row.

-- David Jimenez

Rangers LHP Harrison headed to DL for second time

ARLINGTON - Texas Rangers left-hander Matt Harrison will be placed on the disabled list with biceps inflammation.

Harrison, who had an MRI that showed no structural damage, said Saturday he has also been experiencing numbness in his left hand and is scheduled to visit a neurologist to rule out nerve damage.

Right-hander Tommy Hunter will be called up from to start in Harrison's place Sunday night against San Diego.

"I don't know what's going on," Harrison said. "I just don't feel like myself."

Harrison went on the disabled list May 26 with left shoulder inflammation and made two starts after he was activated June 17.

In a loss Tuesday to Arizona, Harrison allowed seven runs in 3 2-3 innings.

The 23-year-old said he didn't experience any discomfort during his last outing. He said he began to have problems after his start against the Diamondbacks.

The MRI came up clean Friday, and Harrison is scheduled to visit a neurologist July 6. Harrison said poor mechanics may be the cause for the ailments.

Rangers manager Ron Washington said the team doesn't want take any chances.

"We're going to put him on the DL and get everything well," Washington said.

Hunter made a spot start on May 29, giving up three runs in 5 1-3 innings against Oakland.

Harrison, who went 9-3 in 15 starts as a rookie in 2008, is 4-5 with a 6.11 ERA in 11 starts this season.