“Hopefully this kind of gets us going,” Sweeney said. “The good thing, too, is Barry gets two days to relax and then he gets to DH.”

Astros manager Phil Garner said he didn’t expect the Giants to retaliate and reiterated that he believes Springer did not intentionally hit Bonds.

Morris (3-4) certainly couldn’t afford to get in trouble.

The right-hander, in his first season with San Francisco, received a fine last month along with pitching coach Dave Righetti for their actions during a game at Colorado a day after Jose Mesa plunked San Francisco shortstop Omar Vizquel.

Morris was fined for intentionally throwing at Matt Holliday in the first inning. The right-hander was ejected after throwing only eight pitches and plunking two of the five batters he faced.

This time, Morris pitched eight strong innings after losing his previous four decisions and also added a pair of singles. He allowed one run and three hits, struck out four and walked three in a 118-pitch performance.

“The situation last night is what it is,” Morris said. “Right now, we’re trying to get this team back on track and our priority was to win the game. It’s something you’re not going to forget, but sometimes that works better ... rather than sticking up for guys or getting into the beanball game.”

Astros pitching coach Jim Hickey made a visit to the mound in the first inning for the third straight night after Houston’s starters fell behind in a hurry.

The way this series went for the defending NL champions, thousands of fans had to be hoping for a return from Roger Clemens — not to mention the Astros finding some offense.

Fernando Nieve (1-2) was knocked out of the game after 3 2-3 innings.

Orlando Palmeiro hit an RBI single in the second for Houston. Garner used Palmeiro in right field in place of struggling Jason Lane in a move to try to generate more offense, but the Astros lost for the 10th time in 13 games.

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It’s the first time since July 1962 — the inaugural year of the franchise — that the Astros have allowed double-digit runs in three consecutive games.

“This is about as bad a series as I can recall,” Garner said. “We didn’t pitch it, we didn’t hit it, we didn’t catch it. That about sums it up. I can’t recall being beat this badly three games in a row.”

Notes: In the three games, San Francisco scored nine total runs in the first inning. The Giants scored 10 or more runs in three straight games for the first time since Aug. 3-6, 2002, two games at Pittsburgh and a home contest with the Cubs. ... All three Houston starters in the series failed to make it through the fourth inning. Reliever Trever Miller struck out the side in the fifth, one of few bright spots for Houston pitchers. ... Morris has 68 career hits, three this year all against the Astros. ... Feliz hit his ninth homer of the year. ... The Giants batted around in each game.

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