Rodriguez (6-7), whose previous longest outing was 7 2/3 innings, struck out eight batters, tying a career high, and walked one.
With two outs in the top of the eighth inning, Mets All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes failed to run out a ground ball to third base that he apparently thought would be foul. He was replaced at shortstop by Ruben Gotay in the bottom of the eighth. It was the second time this week that Reyes was removed after failing to run hard on a grounder.
The Mets didn’t get a runner past first after Carlos Beltran’s first-inning double. Rodriguez allowed a single to Jose Valentin with one out in the sixth before retiring the next eight batters, striking out four.
He walked Valentin to start the ninth before Beltran popped out. David Wright grounded into a forceout before he was thrown out to end the game while trying to take second on a ball in the dirt.
It was the third time the Mets have been shut out this season and the third shutout for Houston.
Berkman, who has homered in five of his last 10 games, hit his 15th homer to left field in the fifth.
Mets starter Mike Pelfrey (0-7), in his second start since he was recalled from Triple-A on Sunday, was solid until the fifth, giving up three hits and one run through four.
He walked Brad Ausmus to start the fifth, then retired the next two batters. A run-scoring double by rookie Hunter Pence pushed Houston’s lead to 2-0.
Pence has quickly become a fan favorite. On Friday - a rain-soaked day - two teenage girls offered a sign that read: “Hunter Pence: The Only Sunshine in Our Life.”
Berkman followed with his homer to left to make it 4-0. On the previous pitch, Berkman lost the handle on his bat and it went flying into Houston’s dugout, narrowly missing bench coach Cecil Cooper.
