Five-hit game makes Biggio 27th player with 3,000

HOUSTON — Craig Biggio collected his 3,000th hit and Carlos Lee made sure he could celebrate it in style.

Biggio had five hits for only the second time in his career and Lee hit a grand slam in the 11th inning to give the Houston Astros an 8-5 win over the Colorado Rockies Thursday night.

"I think it was the way it was supposed to be done," Biggio said as he choked back tears. "To have it happen here — that was a special atmosphere that was out there today."

Biggio became the 27th player to reach the 3,000 mark with a single to center field in the seventh inning. The Astros second baseman was thrown out trying to stretch the play into a double on his third hit of the night, which tied the score at 1.

He added his fourth hit on a single to right field in the ninth for hit No. 3,001 and his first four-hit game of the season.

Biggio is the first player to reach 3,000 hits since Rafael Palmeiro on July 15, 2005, with Baltimore.

The 41-year-old, who entered the season needing 70 hits to reach the milestone, has played his entire 20-year career with Houston, making him the longest-tenured player in franchise history.

"I'm relieved," he said. "Seventy is a big number. I can downplay it as much as I want but 70 hits is a lot of hits, especially at my age."

The sellout crowd stood and chanted "Bi-ggi-o" at each bat and cameras twinkled with each pitch. Fans held signs that read "Mr. 3,000" and "Biggio's Hit Parade."

Everyone player on the team, including those in the bullpen, stormed the field to congratulate Biggio after his milestone hit. His wife, Patty, sons Conor and Cavan, and daughter Quinn also joined in the celebration. His sons were in the dugout acting as bat boys.

He dragged Jeff Bagwell, a teammate of his for 15 seasons, onto the field after reaching the mark.

"I wanted him on that field, between the lines one more time with me to really let the fans say goodbye, say hello, say thank you for so many things," Biggio said.

Biggio's first hit of the night came on a single to center field in the third inning.

The second hit, also a single, came on a grounder to third base in the fifth. Garrett Atkins badly overthrew first base on the play, leaving the official scorer to pause for several tense seconds before calling it a single and ruling an error allowed Biggio to advance to second.

Biggio is the only player in major-league history with at least 600 doubles (658), 250 home runs (286), 3,000 hits and 400 stolen bases (413).