Astros 6, Diamondbacks 1

HOUSTON – Roger Clemens struck out eight and allowed one run in seven innings, leading the Houston Astros over the reeling Arizona Diamondbacks 6-1.

Clemens (12-3) bounced back nicely after tying a season high by giving up three homers in his loss to Milwaukee on Friday. He allowed only five hits and got his 322nd win, moving three behind Nolan Ryan and Don Sutton for 12th place on the career list.

The Rocket became the fourth pitcher in the majors to win at least 12 games this season.

Jeff Kent hit a two-run homer in the third and Jeff Bagwell followed with a solo shot on the next at-bat, giving the Astros a six-run lead that proved too much for the league’s fourth-worst offense. Darren Oliver pitched the final two innings to earn his first save.

Houston (51-50) remained a half-game ahead of Cincinnati (51-51) for third place in the NL Central, and moved above .500 for the first time since July 11 – before the All-Star break. The Astros, however, still trail division-leading St. Louis by 131/2 games.

Lance Berkman and Jeff Kent each had run-scoring singles in the first, and Morgan Ensberg doubled in Berkman to give Houston an early 3-0 lead.

Casey Fossum (2-10), making the first start of his career against Houston, struggled early against the Astros and never really recovered. The left-hander allowed six runs on nine hits in four innings, tying for his shortest outing of the season. He’s 0-4 in five starts since beating San Diego on July 1.

Danny Bautista scored the Diamondbacks’ only run in the sixth, doubling to start the inning, taking third base on a wild pitch and scoring on Luis Gonzalez’s grounder to second.

Arizona had few chances to rally in their 16th loss in 17 games, as Clemens kept them battling all night.

The Diamondbacks loaded the bases in the second before Clemens intentionally walked Brett Mayne to face Fossum, who’s never had a major league hit in 23 at-bats. Fossum grounded out to second to end the inning.

Notes: Bagwell’s 434th homer moved him into a tie for 31st place all-time with Juan Gonzalez. … The Astros hit back-to-back homers for the third time this season. … Clemens faced Arizona for the first time during the regular season.

AP-ES-07-28-04 2245EDT