One night after ending a 13-game road losing streak, the Houston Astros were back to their putrid ways away from home.
The Astros will resume their four-game series against the San Diego Padres this afternoon at Petco Park and suffered an 8-2 setback on Tuesday. Jordan Lyles got the start for Houston and dropped 2-6 on the season after he allowed five runs and 11 hits in six innings.
"The biggest thing Jordan got off to a good start through those four innings and then he had those four straight hits ... then they kind of got to our bullpen a little bit," Houston manager Brad Mills said.
Marwin Gonzalez collected three hits and a run scored, while J.D. Martinez finished 2-for-4 with an RBI for Houston, which lost for the 14th time in 16 tries and fell to 1-4 on a 10-game road trip.
The Astros are hitting just .194 in the past 17 games and are 10-36 on the road.
Wandy Rodriguez gets the start for the 'Stros Wednesday and he has lost three of his last four decisions, including Friday's 5-1 setback at San Francisco in which he allowed four runs and seven hits in six innings.
Rodriguez is 7-7 with a 3.51 earned run average in 19 starts and did not figure into the decision of an 8-7 defeat versus San Diego on June 25. He allowed five runs in 6 2/3 innings that day and is 3-2 with a 4.93 ERA in seven career games (6 starts) against the Padres.
San Diego has won three of four games since losing four in a row and is 1-1 so far on a seven-game homestand.
In last night's convincing win over the Astros, Yonder Alonso posted two hits, including a two-run homer, three RBI and two runs scored for the Padres. Cameron Maybin ended with three hits, two RBI and a run scored, while Yasmani Grandal added a pair of hits, an RBI and scored a run.
"Well played offensively," San Diego manager Bud Black. "We had some good at- bats, I think we took what (Jordan) Lyles gave us."
Padres slugger Carlos Quentin has missed the past two games with soreness in his surgically-repaired right knee and is day-to-day.
Ross Ohlendorf started for San Diego last night and pushed his record to 3-0 on the season by fanning six batters and yielding two runs -- one earned -- on six hits and one walk in six innings of work.
Clayton Richard draws the start for Black's ballclub tonight and has lost two straight and three of four outings. In a 2-1 setback at Los Angeles his previous time out on Friday, Richard was saddled with the tough-luck loss for giving up two runs in 7 1/3 innings.
Richard, who is 6-10 with a 3.83 ERA in 19 starts, lost to the Astros in a 1-0 decision on June 27, when he permitted the lone run over seven innings. The left-hander is 0-1 with a 5.11 ERA in two career starts in this series.
The 2012 series between Houston and San Diego is tied at 3-3, but the Padres have won six of the previous nine meetings between the teams.
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