HOUSTON (AP) — Zack Greinke pitched eight effective innings, Kyle Tucker homered and the Houston Astros beat Blake Snell and the San Diego Padres 7-4 on Sunday.
Greinke (5-2) permitted one run and six hits. The right-hander, who retired 11 of his first 12 batters, improved to 14-3 in his career against the Padres.
“Most of my stuff was pretty good,” Greinke said. “Command wasn’t perfect with everything, but it was moving pretty good and location was solid.”
Greinke saved Houston’s bullpen, which has been overworked of late, including two straight extra-inning losses against the Padres.
“Greinke was outstanding,” Houston manager Dusty Baker said. “We made some good defensive plays. We turned some double plays at the right moment, which helped him get through the eighth inning. We badly needed this to give the bullpen a rest because we didn’t have like four guys out there.”
Houston jumped on Snell (1-2) for four runs in the first. Alex Bregman drove in Jose Altuve with a groundout, and Tucker capped the inning with a three-run homer to left.
“We just had really good at-bats today,” Tucker said. “We didn’t chase a lot, and when he threw it over the plate, we had some really good swings. It just kind of worked out for us, and we had a really good day against him.”
The Astros added three more in the third. Aledmys Díaz hit a two-run double and scored on Taylor Jones’ single.
Snell permitted a career high-tying seven runs in three innings. He allowed five hits, struck out three and walked three.
Snell said he has to limit the walks, but overall, his stuff felt great.
“I was making good pitches, they just laid off them,” Snell said. “Obviously, I need to be in the zone better.”
San Diego’s Joe Musgrove threw five hitless innings in relief, extending his shutout streak to 17 innings spanning his last three outings.
Musgrove was originally scheduled to start Monday, but manager Jayce Tingler decided to use him to save his weary bullpen after four straight extra-inning games.
“There’s risk in everything you do,” Tingler said. “You do the math and look at guys we could bring up, and we didn’t have the innings. ... Joe was as good and sharp as he’s been all year, including his no-hitter.”
Webster Rivas hit a solo homer for San Diego in the fifth for his first career hit. Wil Myers and Ha-Seong Kim connected in the ninth, but the Padres fell to 8-1 in interleague play.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: RHP Bryan Abreu was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left calf strain. RHP Enoli Paredes was recalled from Triple-A Sugar Land. ... DH Yordan Alvarez missed a fourth straight game with a sore right wrist. ... RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (right shoulder soreness) threw and felt well, Baker said, adding that he could throw a bullpen this week.
BROKEN BAT
After striking out to end the third, San Diego’s Tommy Pham broke his bat over his knee. Pham thought he had walked on a 3-1 pitch, and threw his bat back towards the dugout, but it was called a strike. Pham swung and missed strike three.
UP NEXT
Padres: RHP Chris Paddack (2-3, 3.61 ERA) will start in the first of a three-game series at the Cubs on Monday. Paddack has allowed one run or fewer in each of his last four outings.
Astros: RHP José Urquidy (3-2, 3.22 ERA) will come off the injured list and start against the Red Sox on Monday in the first of a four-game series. Urquidy last started May 12, when he exited in the fourth with shoulder discomfort.
