Clutch hitting helps Astros edge Padres

Christian Walker slugged a two-run home run with two outs in the sixth inning before Isaac Paredes produced a tiebreaking single an inning later as the Houston Astros rallied past the visiting San Diego Padres 3-2 on Saturday.

to secure this three-game interleague series.

Walker, dropped to fifth in the order after batting cleanup for the first 19 games, knotted the score with his second home run three batters after Paredes worked a leadoff walk against Padres right-hander Michael King.

King wobbled through the bottom of the first inning but escaped unscathed despite allowing a Paredes single and a Yordan Alvarez double in succession. King retired the side in order in the fourth and fifth but was burned by the Walker blast, which chased King from the mound.

With two outs in the seventh and runners on first and second, Paredes deposited a flare single into shallow center field off Padres reliever Jeremiah Estrada (0-1). That plated Victor Caratini and snapped the 2-2 deadlock.

The Padres carved out a 2-0 lead against Astros starter Hayden Wesneski behind right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. Wesneski stranded Manny Machado and Gavin Sheets in scoring position in the first and retired five consecutive batters before facing Tatis with one out in the third inning.

Tatis provided the Padres a 1-0 lead with his seventh home run, a line drive to left field that covered 402 feet. Wesneski worked around a pair of baserunners in the fourth before Tatis struck again in the fifth with one out.

Tatis slapped a single to left, advanced on a grounder to the right side of the infield, and swiped third to set the table for Machado, whose double to right scored Tatis and doubled the lead.

Wesneski allowed two runs on six hits and one walk with four strikeouts over five innings. The Houston bullpen took it from there.

Tayler Scott (1-1) worked two perfect innings with a strikeout. Bryan Abreu issued a leadoff walk to Luis Arraez in the eighth but retired Machado, Sheets and Oscar Gonzalez in order. Astros closer Josh Hader survived a tense top of the ninth that included a leadoff double by Jose Iglesias and two strong defensive plays from Alvarez in left and Walker at first base. Hader notched his sixth save.

--Field Level Media