HOUSTON - After losing seven consecutive decisions, Ryan Vogelsong knew it was time to change his approach to pitching.

It worked.

Vogelsong allowed two hits over six innings for his first win since his first start of the season, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Astros 7-2 Wednesday night.

"I know that I have to ability to pitch at this level, so I looked at myself in the mirror and said it is time to do what you can do or your going back to the minors and I finally did it," Vogelsong said.

Jason Kendall hit his first career grand slam off of the left-field pole as Pittsburgh snapped a five-game losing streak and won for just the second time in 17 games at Houston. They have won only four of their last 23 and two of 13 on the road.

"This doesn't wash away what has been happening, but it is nice to get a win," Pittsburgh manager Lloyd McClendon said. "Hopefully we can get on a roll and start playing like we did in the first 45 games and not the last 20."

Vogelsong (2-7) won for the first time since April 8 against Philadelphia. He gave up two runs, while walking three and striking out three.

"It's a big lift. I needed this big time," Vogelsong said. "I tried not to let it weigh on my mind. I tried to block out the last two months and stay positive and do my job."

McClendon advised Vogelsong to stay with the basics in a pregame conversation.

"This was Baseball 101. Good pitching, good bullpen and timely hitting," McClendon said. "I talked to Ryan before the game and I told him to keep it simple. Just keep the ball down and be aggressive, and it worked. They hit some balls right at people and he made some good pitches when he was behind in the count."

It was the first time that Vogelsong had faced Houston.

"That was our first look at him, although we had watched him on TV," Craig Biggio said. "He has a good arm. When you throw 94 you are going to get some people out."

Rob Mackowiak and Jose Castillo singled off Pete Munro in the seventh. David Weathers relieved, and after getting an out, walked pinch-hitter Randall Simon to load the bases for Kendall, who hit his second homer of the season.

"I didn't know what to do. I don't hit many home runs," Kendall said. "I thought it was foul until I saw it hit the pole. I was just looking for a slider down and in and I got it."

Weathers thought it was foul, too.

"I didn't think it would stay fair when he hit it. I looked at the umpire to get another ball but then I saw him watching it and I thought maybe I should watch it to," Weathers said. "It blew me away."