"Hanley Ramirez is so hot at the moment that he was credited with an RBI before stepping into the batter's box or lifting the bat off his shoulder on Friday.

Ramirez drove in three runs in the Marlins' 6-3 victory over the hapless Houston Astros. But his total RBI output for the season increased by four because of a scoring change made by Major League Baseball.

"It's a gift," Ramirez said of the extra RBI, which he received on a play that was originally scored an error in the Texas series. "I take it. I need it."

One way or the other, Ramirez is finally showing some life at the plate after spending the better part of the season mired in the worst slump of his baseball career.

Ramirez went 3 for 3 with a home run and a walk, and the Marlins, behind yet another strong outing by Javier Vazquez, won their third in a row — their longest winning streak since May when they swept the Giants.

Ramirez is finally looking like the All-Star of old. In the 16 games since Jack McKeon took over as manager and stuck Ramirez in the cleanup spot, the shortstop has hit .400 with four home runs and 18 RBI. He is now hitting .246, up from .200 when he moved into the No.?4 spot in the order.

"It's big," Vazquez said of Ramirez's resurgence. "We're waiting on him to break out the way he's doing.""