Milwaukee ? Doug Davis knew exactly how Milwaukee beat Houston, and the reason was pretty simple.

“It was a total team effort all the way around, offensively and defensively,” he said after the Brewers’ 9-3 victory Friday.

Scott Podsednik hit a three-run homer and an RBI double, and Geoff Jenkins and Junior Spivey also homered for the Brewers, who have beaten Astros starter Tim Redding three times this season.

Davis flew back a day ahead of his start. The rest of his teammates played a night game against the Anaheim Angels and then flew home, arriving at Miller Park at 6:20 a.m. Friday.

“You can find excuses to be not successful,” manager Ned Yost said. “They didn’t use that as an excuse.”

Jeff Kent extended his career-best hitting streak to 25 games — a franchise record and tied for the longest in the majors this season — with a leadoff double in the second inning.

The Brewers turned three double plays to support Davis, all of them started by third baseman Bill Hall. He also had a lunging stab of a liner by Craig Biggio in the fifth inning.

“I’m a guy that needs those plays,” Davis said. “Billy did make a great diving play and the three double plays he started.”

Davis (5-5) gave up three runs on seven hits in six innings. He struck out three and walked a season-high five in his first victory in six career starts against the Astros.

He described his success Friday night in an unusual way.

“Effectively wild because I had five walks and four strikeouts,” he said. “So, it’s not like I was over the plate all the time.”

Redding (3-5) left with a 3-2 lead and two on and one out in the sixth. Mike Gallo got pinch-hitter Keith Ginter to ground out, but then gave up Podsednik’s homer.

The Brewers added three runs off reliever Chad Harville in the seventh. Craig Counsell hit a two-run single, and Podsednik added a run-scoring double to make it 8-3.

Jenkins hit his seventh homer in the eighth.

With the Astros trailing 2-1, Lance Berkman hit a solo homer to tie it in the sixth. Jason Lane followed with a double and scored on Morgan Ensberg’s single as the Astros regained the lead with two runs off Davis.

Brad Ausmus’ RBI single in the second gave the Astros a 1-0 lead. The Brewers went ahead 2-1 in the third on Spivey’s homer and an unearned run.