Houston Astros pound out 24 hits in 15-11 victory over Colorado Rockies

Berkman goes 4 for 4 to key Astros’ win

DENVER — Lance Berkman went 4 for 4 and the Houston Astros finished with 24 hits in a 15-11 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night.

Berkman drove in two runs and scored three times for the Astros, who were one hit shy of their franchise record for a nine-inning game set during the second matchup in a doubleheader against Atlanta on May 30, 1976. Geoff Blum matched his career high with five RBIs.

Mike Hampton (2-3) was the beneficiary of all the run support. He allowed five runs and seven hits over six innings against his former team to improve to 18-10 at Coors Field, the second-most wins by a left-hander in the park’s history.

Chris Iannetta hit his third career grand slam and drove in five for Colorado, which finished with 12 hits. Ian Stewart had a two-run drive for his third homer in two games and seventh this season.

Houston scored three runs in four of the first five innings to build a 12-3 lead. Berkman singled twice and walked against Jason Marquis to boost his career batting average against the right-hander to .511.

Miguel Tejada singled in Berkman in the third to give Houston a 4-3 lead. Hunter Pence added an RBI single and Blum drove in another run with a fielder’s choice.

Blum’s bases-loaded double made it 9-3 in the fourth.

Marquis (4-3) allowed nine runs and 10 hits in 3 2-3 innings, his shortest outing of the year.

Colorado shortstop Troy Tulowitzki left for a pinch runner in the seventh inning after being hit on his left elbow by a pitch from Alberto Arias. Team officials said Tulowitzki had a contusion and would be evaluated again on Thursday.

Tejada, Pence, and Carlos Lee each had three hits for Houston.