With a forgettable thumping in extra innings by the hands of the Padres the night prior, the Astros tried to get back on track and even the series with a victory on Saturday at Minute Maid Park. Things looked promising as they jumped out to a 6-1 lead, but San Diego roared back, forcing extras again, where they would hand Houston the loss.

Final Score (12 innings): Padres 11, Astros 8

Astros' Record: 27-24, second in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Austin Adams (2-0)

Losing Pitcher: Ralph Garza Jr. (0-1)

Houston gets to Darvish

After staying gridlocked with no score through the first three innings with Jake Odorizzi and Yu Darvish holding their own, the Astros put together a multi-run frame in the bottom of the fourth. Chas McCormick led off with Houston's first hit of the day, then stole second base to get in scoring position. It looked as though he might be left stranded, but Carlos Correa would deliver a two-run shot to give them a 2-0 advantage with two outs.

They threatened again in the next inning, loading the bases with one out on a double, walk, and hit by pitch. Chas McCormick continued his success at the plate, getting a sac fly, followed by an RBI double by Alex Bregman, then an infield error by San Diego, making it a 5-0 game before it was all said and done.

Odorizzi breaks through

After a disappointing start to the year for his new team, where he allowed nine runs in two regular starts, then getting just one out into the third before leaving with an injury, Jake Odorizzi tossed an impressive start, hitting the reset button on 2021. He allowed a single to start the game, a one-out walk in the same inning, then retired the next thirteen in a row to finish the fifth.

He returned in the top of the sixth to try for one more, but after allowing back-to-back singles to start the inning and with a limited pitch limit, he faced just one more batter, getting a flyout, to end his day. His final line: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 87 P.

Tatis Jr. plays spoiler in the ninth to set up more extra innings

That one run came when Brooks Raley would come on to finish the sixth for Odorizzi, allowing a single to load the bases before getting two groundouts to end the inning, one bringing in the run to make it a four-run game. Houston put that run right back on the board in the bottom of the inning, getting two singles to put runners on the corners to set up an RBI sac bunt by Garrett Stubbs. Andre Scrubb was next out of the bullpen in the top of the seventh but faced just four batters, putting two on with a walk and a single, before being replaced with Joe Smith to get the last out of the inning.

Smith tried to take care of the eighth as well, but after giving up two runs on three hits and a walk, he would leave with two outs and two on as Ryan Pressly would try to get a four-out save. Pressly stranded both inherited runners in the eighth, then returned to a still 6-3 game in the top of the ninth. He got two outs while putting two on base, bringing Fernando Tatis Jr. to the plate with a chance to end the game. Instead, after a potential game-ending foul ball went uncaught, Tatis Jr. destroyed a game-tying homer to make it 6-6 before Pressly would get out of the inning.

Astros fall in extras, again

Jose Altuve led the bottom of the ninth off with a single, then moved to second on a wild pitch, but would go no further as the game headed to extra innings for the second consecutive day. Brandon Bielak took the mound to deal with the free runner in the top of the tenth, who moved to third on a wild pitch then scored on a double play for the first two outs.

Down a run in the bottom of the inning, Kyle Tucker started on second. Carlos Correa dug into the box and led off the inning by scoring Tucker on an RBI double, putting himself in scoring position as the winning run. He moved to third on a double play but was left stranded there as the game played on. Ryne Stanek entered in the top of the eleventh and, after getting two outs, allowed an RBI single to Manny Machado to put the Padres back in front 8-7.

A sac bunt moved Houston's runner, Myles Straw, to third for the first out of the bottom of the eleventh, who would score to tie the game on a passed ball. In the twelfth, Ralph Garza Jr. made his MLB debut in a big spot. After an intentional walk to Tatis Jr., Will Myers blew open the game with a three-run homer with one out, making it 11-8. That score would go final as Houston fell to the Padres, giving them the series win and a chance at a sweep on Sunday in the finale.

Up Next: The third and final game of this series will be a 1:10 PM start on Sunday. It shapes up to be another strong pitching matchup, with Blake Snell (1-1, 4.50 ERA) for the Padres going opposite Zack Greinke (4-2, 3.97 ERA) for the Astros.