HOUSTON — It took one swing for Mark Saccomanno to make a name for himself.

Pinch-hitting for Houston, Saccomanno homered on the first pitch he saw in the major leagues to help the surging Astros beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 Monday night.

"I went up there very nervous. I don't even remember it, my legs were so weak," Saccomanno said. "It was a great feeling to hit it out. It was like a dream."

Saccomanno hit a solo shot in the fifth inning, becoming the fourth Houston player to homer in his first big league at-bat. The Astros have won three straight and 11 of 12 to move 10 games over .500 for the first time this season. They are five games behind Milwaukee, which leads the NL wild-card standings.

Called up from the minors earlier in the day to help fill in for injured third baseman Ty Wigginton, Saccomanno batted for pitcher Alberto Arias in a scoreless game and drove Ian Snell's pitch the opposite way into the right-field bullpen.

Saccomanno was in Austin at 2:30 p.m. on Monday when he got the call to join the Astros. He hopped a flight to Houston at 4:30 and arrived just in time for the game.

"I didn't get a chance to get any swings before the game," Saccomanno said. "So I went down to the batting cage in the second inning with (coach) Dave Clark. I was thinking about what to do and I said if I got in I might take a pitch. He said, `If you do, I'll fine you,' and I knew he would."

The homer triggered a three-run inning for the Astros. The next four batters got hits, including RBI singles by Miguel Tejada and Lance Berkman.

"Who would have thought that a guy coming off the bench would do that?" Snell said. "I threw him a fastball down and away and he went and got it."

Saccomanno became the 22nd player to hit a home run on his first pitch in the majors.

Kevin Kouzmanoff was the last to do it, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He accomplished the feat for Cleveland on Sept. 2, 2006, becoming the only big leaguer to hit a grand slam on his first pitch.

The last Houston player to homer in his first career at-bat was Charlton Jimerson on Sept. 4, 2006, at Philadelphia.