Melky Cabrera and Jason Heyward drove in three runs apiece, Derek Lowe gave Atlanta its third solid start in a row and the Braves beat the Houston Astros 7-1 on Sunday to finish off a three-game sweep.
His streak of hitting home runs in three consecutive games ended, but Heyward had another big day at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs and scoring twice.
Heyward opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the second, had an RBI double to spark a three-run fourth and added an RBI single in the three-run fifth. The rookie is 7-for-14 over the last four games.
Cabrera drove in his runs with an infield single in the fourth and a two-run double in the fifth.
Lowe (4-2) picked up where Tommy Hanson and Tim Hudson left off, giving the Braves another strong start. He went five innings, allowing one run on six hits and walking one. Kris Medlen worked two scoreless innings and Takashi Saito and Billy Wagner each worked one scoreless frame.
Bud Norris (1-3) allowed seven runs on eight hits before he was chased with two outs in the fifth. He walked four and struck out three.
The slumping Astros have lost six in a row to remain mired in last place in the National League Central. Houston dropped to 1-13 in games in which it scores fewer than four runs. The Astros scored only four runs in the series.
Braves cleanup hitter Troy Glaus had another good game, going 2-for-3 and scoring twice after driving in four runs on Saturday. In two games, Glaus has raised his average 44 points to .238.
Houston | Atlanta | |
Bud Norris | Player | Derek Lowe |
Loss | W/L | Win |
4.2 | IP | 5.0 |
3 | Strikeouts | 3 |
8 | Hits | 6 |
13.50 | ERA | 1.80 |
Houston | Atlanta | |
Kazuo Matsui | Player | Melky Cabrera |
2 | Hits | 2 |
0 | RBI | 3 |
0 | HR | 0 |
2 | TB | 3 |
.667 | Avg | .667 |