SAN DIEGO -- One night after setting the tone at Petco Park behind a multihomer outburst, the Astros found themselves locked in a low-scoring grind, falling 3-2 to the Padres on Saturday.
The loss evened the weekend series and set up a decisive Game 3 on Sunday as Houston tries to avoid back-to-back series drops. For the Astros -- who dropped their previous series to Toronto after a 12-3 stretch -- the objective heading into the finale remains unchanged: Win the series and stay atop the AL West.
The loss, paired with the Rangers' fourth straight win, narrowed Houston's division lead to half a game.
On the mound, Houston turned to Peter Lambert, who has served as one of the rotation's most consistent baseline starters since signing out of Spring Training. Lambert fought through an elevated pitch count and constant early traffic, working five frames while allowing two earned runs on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts.
San Diego capitalized on a few early openings against the right-hander, taking a 2-1 lead in the third when Jackson Merrill launched a solo home run to center, before adding an unearned insurance run in the fourth following an infield error.
“Just wasn't very sharp from the first hitter,” Lambert said postgame. “Walking the first guy, it's never the right recipe. Was able to get out of it with only one, which was obviously a good thing, but just wasn't very sharp. ... Personally, I just didn't think I was very sharp. I wasn't able to locate as well as I have in the past.”
Despite Lambert’s command struggles, Astros manager Joe Espada pointed to his starter's ability to compete and keep the game within reach.
“That's Peter just grinding through it -- gave us five innings, kept us in the game, gave us a chance to win,” Espada said. “He pitched out of trouble a few times. ... I thought for the most part, the stuff was there. I thought that was your typical Peter: competing, battling, making pitches.”
Houston’s lineup, meanwhile, found traction hard to come by against Padres starter Michael King and San Diego's bullpen, finishing 2-for-6 with runners in scoring position and leaving seven on base. Taylor Trammell provided the initial response in the second inning with a solo home run to right-center, but the Astros went quiet through the middle frames, including leaving the bases loaded in the seventh.
The bullpen held San Diego at three runs, giving the offense one final push against closer Mason Miller in the ninth. After Christian Walker was hit by a pitch and advanced to third on a wild pitch, Yainer Diaz delivered a two-out RBI single to pull Houston within a run before LaMonte Wade Jr. grounded out to end the night.
“Like the fight there at the end -- we were one swing away from tying that game,” Espada said.
With the series tied, the equation for Houston comes down to Sunday: Win to claim the series, avoid consecutive series losses and maintain their edge in the division.