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 "If we keep doing this, we are going to be really good," Houston
second baseman Jose Altuve said after the streaking Astros slugged
three home runs for the second consecutive night and beat the San
Diego Padres 14-3 Tuesday at Petco Park.
Maybe they already are really good.
"We have a lot of power, guys hitting homers, doubles, stealing
bases," Altuve said. "Everybody is doing their job."
Houston got home runs from left fielder Evan Gattis, right fielder
George Springer and first baseman Chris Carter while winning its
fifth straight. Springer tied his career high with five RBIs.
The Astros (13-7) hold a four-game lead in the American League West,
with the Los Angeles Angels and Seattle Mariners tied for second.
The reeling Padres (11-11) lost for the sixth time in seven
contests.
Altuve had four hits, raised his average to .348 and ran his hitting
streak to seven games.
Houston posted season highs in runs and hits (17).
"We never stop," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said of the outburst. "We
put up some good at-bats as the game wore on. These games are hard
to come by."
Or are they? One night after scoring nine, the Astros plopped a 14
on the scoreboard.
"We have an explosive offense when things are clicking," Hinch said.
"It's contagious."
Astros starter Roberto Hernandez (1-2) pitched six innings, allowing
three runs on six hits and a walk with six strikeouts.
Hernandez, who won a roster spot out of spring training, helped the
AL West-leading Astros to their ninth win in 11 road games, the best
road start in franchise history. Houston also clinched its fourth
consecutive series win and will seek its second straight road sweep
Wednesday.
Padres right-hander Tyson Ross (1-2) went five innings and was
charged with four runs on five hits. He struck out nine but walked
two and hit a batter.
"Just not locating my pitches well," said Ross, the Padres' lone
All-Star last season. "They are up over the plate, and you just
can't do that. It's early and it's a small sample size, but I got to
get better and start to do what I was doing last year."
Springer smacked a two-run homer off Odrisamer Despaigne in the
seventh to give the Astros an 8-3 lead. Third baseman Luis Valbuena
was aboard after being hit by a pitch for the second time in the
game.
The Astros added to the margin in the eighth with Springer's two-RBI
single, and they scored four more in the ninth.
Once again, the Padres' relievers got battered. San Diego's bullpen
gave up 10 runs Tuesday after allowing five Monday.
"The bullpen has been banged around a little bit," San Diego manager
Bud Black said. "We have to rectify that and turn it around. It was
a tough night for a lot of our pitchers."
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Left fielder Justin Upton opened the sixth with his sixth homer of
the season, pulling the Padres to within 6-3.
First baseman Chris Carter's home run in the sixth pushed the Astros
to a 6-2 lead.
Center fielder Wil Myers' home run in the fifth brought the Padres
to within 4-2. Myers' fourth homer of the season, which went over
the Padres' bullpen, went 445 feet.
Houston scored a run in the fifth after loading the bases with no
outs. Springer collected an RBI on a fielder's choice for a 4-1
advantage.
The Astros increased their cushion to 3-1 in the fourth on Carter's
run-scoring single, which extended his hitting streak to seven
games. Carter drove in center fielder Colby Rasmus, who had singled
and stole second.
The Padres cut the Astros' edge to 2-1 in the first as second
baseman Yangervis Solarte, with the first of his two hits, chased
home Myers. Myers got aboard on a bunt single and stole second base.
The Astros struck quickly in the first as Gattis hit a two-run homer
after Valbuena reached on a single. Gattis' second home run on the
season ricocheted off Myers' glove in front of the center field
fence before going over for a 2-0 Houston lead.
NOTES: Astros SS Jed Lowrie was placed on the disabled list and will
undergo surgery to repair a torn right thumb ligament. He injured it
Monday in the series opener on a slide at the plate. Houston called
up SS Jonathan Villar from Triple-A Fresno. ... LF Evan Gattis was
in the lineup after starting 16 of the Astros' 18 games at American
League parks at DH. ... Astros manager A.J. Hinch hasn't decided on
Friday's starter against the Seattle Mariners. ... Padres RHP Josh
Johnson, a two-time All-Star, threw 40 pitches in a simulated game.
He continues to make progress from his second Tommy John surgery.
... Struggling Padres 2B Jedd Gyorko will start Wednesday against
Astros LHP Dallas Keuchel. RHP Andrew Cashner will start for San
Diego.
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