HOUSTON (Interstat) — Peter Lambert pitched seven strong innings and Jeremy Peña homered and drove in two runs as the Houston Astros defeated the Detroit Tigers 4-2 on Wednesday afternoon at Daikin Park. The victory gave Houston a 2-1 lead in the series. Lambert allowed two hits and one earned run with five strikeouts to improve to 6-4. Casey Mize took the loss, yielding three earned runs on six hits in 4⅔ innings. Josh Hader earned his fourth save despite allowing a solo homer in the ninth. Houston scored single runs in the third, two in the fifth and one in the sixth. Yordan Alvarez doubled in a run, Isaac Paredes added an RBI double and Peña singled in a run. Detroit’s only runs came on solo homers by Kevin McGonigle in the seventh and Kerry Carpenter in the ninth. The Tigers finished with three hits. Attendance was 31,476, and the game lasted 2 hours, 22 minutes. Detroit dropped to 30-44, Houston improved to 35-41.

HOUSTON (Interstat) — Houston scored three runs in the fifth and sixth innings to break open a tie game and Peter Lambert pitched six strong innings as the Astros defeated the Detroit Tigers 4-2 on Wednesday afternoon at Daikin Park. The Astros improved to 35-41, while the Tigers fell to 30-44 in the series finale before 31,476 fans in a game that lasted 2 hours, 22 minutes. Lambert (6-4) allowed one run on two hits over six innings, striking out five and walking one. Josh Hader pitched the ninth inning for his fourth save, striking out two. Casey Mize (2-4) took the loss for Detroit, allowing four runs on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out two and walked three. The Tigers managed only three hits in the game, but two of them were solo home runs. Kerry Carpenter led off the seventh with a homer to left, his 10th of the season, and Kevin McGonigle led off the ninth with a homer to left, his sixth. Those accounted for Detroit’s only runs. Houston outhit Detroit 9-3 and scored in three separate innings. The game was scoreless through the first two innings as Lambert set down the first six Tigers in order, striking out two. Mize matched him, allowing only a double to Cam Smith in the second but stranding him. The Astros broke through in the third. With one out, Jeremy Peña drove a 1-1 pitch from Mize deep to left field for a solo home run, his fourth of the season. Peña’s homer put Houston ahead 1-0. Detroit threatened in the top of the fourth when Dillon Dingler singled to center with two outs, but Riley Greene struck out on a foul tip to end the inning. Houston extended its lead in the fifth. Christian Vázquez led off with a single to center. After Jeremy Peña grounded out, moving Vázquez to second, Yordan Alvarez doubled sharply to center, scoring Vázquez to make it 2-0. Christian Walker lined out, but Isaac Paredes followed with a double to left, scoring Alvarez from second to push the lead to 3-0. Jose Altuve grounded out to end the inning. The Astros added a run in the sixth. Joey Loperfido led off with a double to center, his sixth of the season. Jake Meyers walked and Christian Vázquez walked to load the bases. Peña then singled to right, scoring Loperfido. Right fielder Kerry Carpenter threw home in an attempt to get Meyers, but the tag play was upheld after a Houston challenge, and Meyers was called out at the plate. Alvarez grounded out to end the inning with Houston leading 4-0. Detroit finally got on the board in the seventh. After Riley Greene flied out and Spencer Torkelson popped out, Carpenter crushed a solo homer to left, cutting the deficit to 4-1. Colt Keith flied out to end the inning. The Tigers mounted a rally in the ninth. McGonigle led off with a solo homer to left, his sixth of the season, making it 4-2. But Hader settled down, striking out Dingler, Greene and Torkelson in succession to end the game. Key offensive performances for Houston included Peña’s home run and RBI single, Alvarez’s run-scoring double, Paredes’ RBI double, Loperfido’s double and a double by Cam Smith. Vázquez had a single and a walk. For Detroit, Carpenter and McGonigle each homered, and Dingler had the Tigers’ only other hit, a single. The win was Houston’s second in three games against Detroit in the series. The Astros lost the opener 9-3 on Monday before winning 4-2 on Tuesday and again Wednesday. Detroit now returns home to host the Chicago White Sox for a three-game series beginning Friday. Houston will host the Cleveland Guardians for a weekend series starting Friday. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Detroit Tigers 5, Houston Astros 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave Houston a 54.20 percent probability to win. Detroit had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of six went over the over-under line of eight.

BASEBALL PREVIEW: Tigers at Astros HOUSTON (Interstat) — The Detroit Tigers visit the Houston Astros on Wednesday evening at Daikin Park, looking to build on a 9-3 rout Monday that featured a historic performance by third baseman Colt Keith. Keith homered three times and drove in six runs in that victory, going 3-for-4. Over his past 10 games, he has four home runs and nine RBIs. The 24-year-old is 5-for-24 in that span, but his power outburst Monday made him a focal point for the Astros’ pitching staff. Detroit (30-42) will start right-hander Peter Lambert (5-4, 4.12 ERA). Lambert has been the Tigers’ most consistent starter, though he has not faced Houston this season. He last pitched June 12 against Cleveland, allowing three runs over six innings in a 3-2 loss. Houston (33-41) counters with a pitcher to be announced. The Astros have lost four of five and are struggling offensively, averaging 2.4 runs in that stretch. Third baseman Isaac Paredes remains a threat; he hit a solo home run Monday in a 1-for-1 outing and has three homers in his last 10 games. However, Paredes is batting just .118 (4-for-34) over that stretch. The forecast calls for rain and 79 degrees at first pitch, which could delay or affect play. Detroit is 2-1 on its current road trip. After Wednesday, the Tigers return home for a six-game homestand against the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees. Houston continues a homestand that includes a weekend series with Cleveland before embarking on a six-game road trip to Toronto and Detroit. The game simulator projects a 5-4 Tigers victory. Detroit is a -1.5 favorite, and the over/under is 8 runs. NOTEWORTHY: In Monday’s win, Detroit shortstop Kevin McGonigle homered and drove in a run. Astros reliever Steven Okert struck out two in a scoreless inning. Detroit starter Drew Anderson earned the win with 2 2/3 innings of one-run ball.