Tejada’s grand slam broke open a close game in the sixth inning and helped the surging Houston Astros beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-4 on Wednesday night.
The Astros’ shortstop is hitting in front of Lance Berkman, who is having a stellar season with 28 home runs and 100 runs batted in.
“I try to be the most relaxed I can be because I know I have the hottest player in baseball behind me - Lance,” Tejada said. “I have so much confidence in Lance right now that I’m not looking for a walk or a base hit.
“That’s why I’m taking pitches. Right now, I want him to come to the plate with the bases loaded. I was just trying to get one (run in).”
Houston has won five straight games and 13 of its last 14. The Astros remained four games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League wild-card standings. They are 12 games above the .500 mark for the first time since the end of 2005, when they were 16 games over .500.
Winner Brian Moehler (11-6) went six innings, allowing two runs and five hits.
“Moehler did a good job,” Houston manager Cecil Cooper said. “He throws strikes. He was around the zone. I don’t even think he had his best stuff but he was able to keep us close.”
Jose Valverde pitched the ninth for his league-leading 42nd save in 48 tries. He stretched his franchise record for consecutive saves to 15.
Loser Denny Bautista (4-3) pitched 1 1/3 innings and gave up five runs and three hits.
“Again, we’re not hitting our spots when we need to,” Pirates manager John Russell said of Bautista. “We put guys on the base against a good-hitting team. His velocity is still there; he just didn’t have his breaking ball tonight. It was still a good matchup (with Tejada) if he throws the ball the way he is capable.”
With the score tied 2-2, Darin Erstad’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth. A walk to Mark Loretta set up Tejada’s slam. It was Tejada’s 11th career grand slam and 13th homer this year.
Starter Tom Gorzelanny had to leave the game in the third inning with an irritation to his left middle finger. Gorzelanny went 2 1/3 innings and allowed two runs, three hits and two walks. He struck out two.
Houston took a 2-0 lead on Hunter Pence’s two-run homer in the second inning. It was his 22nd homer of the season.
Pittsburgh cut the deficit to one on Adam LaRoche’s 19th homer in the fourth. The Pirates tied it in the fifth on Nyger Morgan’s RBI double.
They closed to 7-4 on RBI doubles by Nate McLouth and LaRoche in the eighth.
NOTES: The Astros are considering changing the time of their Friday game with the Chicago Cubs from 7:05 p.m. to 1:05 p.m. because of the possibility of Hurricane Ike heading toward the city. A final decision will be announced today. Officials say the possibility of moving Saturday’s game will be determined later. . . . Tejada’s double in the fifth inning gave him an 11-game hitting streak. His slam won $25,000 for Astros fan Linda LeBlanc, whose name was chosen at random to win the money if Houston hit a grand slam in the inning. . . . Berkman scored his 110th run of the season, matching his career high set in 2001 and ’03. . . . Valverde’s 42nd save tied him for second in on the Astros’ single-season list with Brad Lidge (2005).
