HOUSTON -- Astros starter J.A. Happ tossed seven shutout innings in his best performance of the 2011 regular season Wednesday night to lead Houston to a 2-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Minute Maid Park to complete the three-game sweep.
The Astros have tied a season-best with four straight wins and finally recorded their first home sweep over an opponent in 2011.
Both teams had little to cheer about offensively, as Pittsburgh finished with just four hits while the Astros had only eight in the box score.
The Pirates didn't have a single baserunner advance to second.
Astros slugger Carlos Lee produced the only extra-base hit on the night -- his 34th double of the season -- in the eighth off Jose Veras.
Lee had two hits to extend his hitting streak to 12 games.
With the exception of the fourth inning, both teams failed to score over the other eight, in what turned out to be standout pitching performances across the board from Happ, as well as Pittsburgh starter James McDonald, and the effort from the bullpens.
Astros third baseman Jimmy Paredes drew a leadoff walk in the fourth and advanced to third on Angel Sanchez' single, which opened the door for Humberto Quintero to break a scoreless tie with an RBI grounder -- a dribbler in front of home plate.
Sanchez made it to third on a throwing error by Pirates first baseman Garrett Jones, and after Happ drew a walk, Jordan Schafer reached on a bunt single to push Sanchez across the plate and give Houston a 2-0 lead -- just enough to earn a win.
McDonald (8-7) allowed two runs (one earned) on seven hits with two walks and six strikeouts over six innings to earn the loss.
For Happ (5-15), he got back in the win column for the first time since July 19, yielding just three hits with one walk and six strikeouts over 110 pitches (71 for strikes) to give himself consecutive solid outings since being recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City.
"What a great job," Astros manager Brad Mills said. "He threw the ball with confidence. His rhythm was good. He got the ball and let it go. He was absolutely outstanding. It was real nice to see."
Right-hander Fernando Rodriguez tossed a scoreless eighth for the Astros before turning the ball over to closer Mark Melancon.
The right-handed Melancon needed just 11 pitches in the ninth to close the door on the Pirates and record his 16th save.
"Outstanding job by J.A. Happ," Melancon said. "He pitched phenomenal out there. He looked like he has been doing it all year. He struggled a little bit, but now he's picked it up and is cruising right now."
The Astros are idle Thursday before opening a three-game weekend series Friday night against the Milwaukee Brewers at Minute Maid Park.
Lucas Harrell (0-0, 7.20 ERA), who made a few stints with the White Sox over the last two seasons, will get the starting nod as a September call-up in the opener in place of Brett Myers, who has temporarily left the team for the birth of his fourth child.
Harrell, 26, was claimed off waivers by Houston on July 8 and excelled at Oklahoma City, going 5-2 with a 1.72 ERA in nine starts.
He'll draw a difficult challenge right off the bat in his Astros debut, as the Brewers will counter with Zack Greinke (13-5, 4.05 ERA).
First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CT.
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