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HOUSTON WITH THE KO 
MIAMI -- For about a month, Ricky Nolasco found himself in a nice groove. From the start on Wednesday, the 26-year-old found himself in trouble.
Nolasco surrendered a career-high 10 runs in 3 1/3 innings, and the Marlins' five-game winning streak was snapped in a 14-6 loss to the Astros in front of 21,122 at Land Shark Stadium.
Hunter Pence did most of the damage for Houston, belting a pair of three-run homers. The six RBIs are a personal high for Pence, who now has five multi-homer games. Kazuo Matsui added three hits, and he now has 566 in his MLB career and 1,998 in his professional career, counting his playing days in Japan. A large contingent of Japanese reporters is in Miami following Matsui's quest.
The 3 1/3 innings is a season short for Nolasco (8-8), who entered with three consecutive starts that lasted seven innings. Previously, the right-hander yielded as many as nine earned runs, on July 8, 2006, against the Mets. The loss was his first since July 10, at Arizona.
Hanley Ramirez added a two-run homer and two hits off Astros starter Bud Norris, who gave up five runs (four earned) on 10 hits in five innings.
Houston's seven-run fourth matched the most runs given up by Florida this season. The Phillies scored seven in the ninth inning on April 24.
Pence, who hit a three-run homer off Nolasco in the first inning, delivered his second three-run shot in the fourth. This time it was off reliever Tim Wood.
The Astros jumped on Nolasco for five runs in the first inning. Lance Berkman, activated off the disabled list (left calf strain) after missing 18 games, hit an RBI double, and Carlos Lee added a run-scoring single. The big blast was Pence's shot to right-center.
In the second inning, Berkman collected another RBI double, and the Astros had a six-run lead.
The Marlins chipped back with two in the second. Jeremy Hermida had a sacrifice fly, and Nolasco delivered a two-out RBI single. In the third, Florida added an unearned run after loading the bases with no outs. Ramirez, who extended his hitting streak to eight games with a double, scored on Cody Ross' fielder's-choice grounder to third.
Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
MIAMI -- For about a month, Ricky Nolasco found himself in a nice groove. From the start on Wednesday, the 26-year-old found himself in trouble.
Nolasco surrendered a career-high 10 runs in 3 1/3 innings, and the Marlins' five-game winning streak was snapped in a 14-6 loss to the Astros in front of 21,122 at Land Shark Stadium.
Hunter Pence did most of the damage for Houston, belting a pair of three-run homers. The six RBIs are a personal high for Pence, who now has five multi-homer games. Kazuo Matsui added three hits, and he now has 566 in his MLB career and 1,998 in his professional career, counting his playing days in Japan. A large contingent of Japanese reporters is in Miami following Matsui's quest.
The 3 1/3 innings is a season short for Nolasco (8-8), who entered with three consecutive starts that lasted seven innings. Previously, the right-hander yielded as many as nine earned runs, on July 8, 2006, against the Mets. The loss was his first since July 10, at Arizona.
Hanley Ramirez added a two-run homer and two hits off Astros starter Bud Norris, who gave up five runs (four earned) on 10 hits in five innings.
Houston's seven-run fourth matched the most runs given up by Florida this season. The Phillies scored seven in the ninth inning on April 24.
Pence, who hit a three-run homer off Nolasco in the first inning, delivered his second three-run shot in the fourth. This time it was off reliever Tim Wood.
The Astros jumped on Nolasco for five runs in the first inning. Lance Berkman, activated off the disabled list (left calf strain) after missing 18 games, hit an RBI double, and Carlos Lee added a run-scoring single. The big blast was Pence's shot to right-center.
In the second inning, Berkman collected another RBI double, and the Astros had a six-run lead.
The Marlins chipped back with two in the second. Jeremy Hermida had a sacrifice fly, and Nolasco delivered a two-out RBI single. In the third, Florida added an unearned run after loading the bases with no outs. Ramirez, who extended his hitting streak to eight games with a double, scored on Cody Ross' fielder's-choice grounder to third.
Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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