SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) - Lance Berkman hopes to continue swinging a hot bat Tuesday as his Houston Astros go for their fifth consecutive victory when they host the San Francisco Giants.

Lance Berkman continued his hot hitting Monday, going 3-for-4 with a game-tying home run in the sixth inning as the Astros posted a 7-3 triumph over the Giants in the opener of the four-game series.

Berkman is now on an 11-game hitting streak, batting .605 (26-for-43) with five home runs and 15 RBI over that stretch. The 32-year-old slugger is batting .393 with a team-leading 13 blasts and 38 RBI this season.

Houston, winners in nine of its last 10 games, will send righthander Brandon Backe (2-4, 4.64 ERA) to the mound. The 30-year-old has lost three of his previous four decisions.

Backe surrendered four runs and six hits with three walks and a season-high nine strikeouts over six frames in Thursday's 8-3 loss to the Washington Nationals.

The Giants will counter with righthander Matt Cain (1-3, 4.50), who was tagged for five runs over 6 1/3 innings during Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

San Francisco has lost six of its previous eight contests.

May 13, 2008