MILWAUKEE -- Making his Astros debut -- and pitching in a game for the first time in about 10 days -- veteran right-hander Doug Fister needed to give his team a little boost. Holding the Brewers to three runs in five innings was just enough to help the Astros snap a three-game losing streak with a 6-4 win Saturday night at Miller Park.
Fister threw 86 pitches in five innings, allowing five hits and two walks while striking out six, and he became the first Astros starter to win a game since Dallas Keuchel on Opening Day. Houston starters were 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA in the team's previous three games.
"He got through five, and he's going to want to go longer as the season goes," said Astros manager A.J. Hinch, who lifted Fister for a pinch-hitter in the sixth. "But he hasn't pitched in a couple weeks and I wanted him to finish with the lead. We had the bullpen set up to use all of them."
Fister, who signed a one-year deal this past offseason, didn't allow a hit until Jonathan Villar's single in the third, and he carried a 6-1 lead into the fifth before giving up a pair of runs, including a homer by Scooter Gennett.
"We've had a couple of rough breaks the last couple of days and our guys rebounded back today, and that shows a lot," Fister said. "For me, I felt like I had some decent command, a couple of walks that really kind of irked me, but at the same time, I felt like I got out of situations when I needed to. Overall it wasn't a bad day. I've still got a lot of room to grow."