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Cam Smith's seventh-inning homer drew the Astros even Monday, and he then tied the score again with two outs in the ninth inning of an eventual Houston win in 10 innings at San Francisco. (Thien-An Truong/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO - Down to their final strike, the Houston Astros gained second life Monday night from one of the exceptions to a recently scuffling lineup. A hitter embodying it, then, helped propel them to an extra-innings win over a Giants team with one of the worst records in the sport.
Jeremy Peña snapped an 0-for-24 funk with a go-ahead single in the 10th inning. Isaac Paredes padded the Astros' lead with a two-run double. Josh Hader preserved it with his first multi-inning appearance since returning from injury.
Houston wrested a 6-3 win from the Giants, as a result, in the opener of a three-game series at Oracle Park. It responded to a series defeat in San Diego by winning for just the fourth time in 55 games this year when trailing after eight innings and maintained a slim AL West lead.
Houston trailed 3-2 entering the ninth. Dylan Smith, a Stafford High School graduate, drew the save chance for San Francisco. Christian Walker, who had grounded out with the bases loaded to end the sixth inning, worked a one-out walk. Smith spiked a pitch with two outs to move pinch runner Nick Allen to second. Cam Smith bounced a two-strike fastball through the right side of a shaded Giants infield.
Smith's third hit of the night, and the Astros' sixth to that point, scored Allen. Smith was thrown out seeking an ill-advised extra 90 feet, but he prevented Houston from mustering two runs for the third consecutive night. Josh Hader needed 11 pitches to retire three batters in the bottom of the inning - including Drew Gilbert, a thorn in Houston's side all night, and force extras.
Gilbert, the Giants center fielder and one of two then-prospects Houston traded to the Mets for Justin Verlander at the 2023 deadline, broke a 2-2 tie in the seventh inning with a solo home run off Hayden Wesneski, who gave the Astros a determined start. Smith had forged the tie with a solo homer off JT Brubaker, a flicker of vitality from a lineup otherwise held largely dormant until then.
It awoke in time to salvage a win. Hader's outing was as notable, given the Astros' caution using their $95 million closer for more than three outs since his return from biceps tendinitis. After Paredes gave them a three-run lead, Bennett Sousa began to warm. But it was Hader who jogged to the mound to begin the bottom of the 10th, getting six outs on 22 pitches.
ASTROS 6, GIANTS 3 (10)
| Houston | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals | 36 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 7 | |
| Peña ss | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .296 |
| Alvarez dh | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .323 |
| Paredes 3b-1b | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .254 |
| Altuve 2b | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .240 |
| Trammell lf | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .233 |
| Walker 1b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .238 |
| 1-Allen pr-3b | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .257 |
| Varsho cf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .235 |
| C.Smith rf | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .226 |
| Vázquez c | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .213 |
| a-Wade ph | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .216 |
| Diaz c | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .256 |
| San Francisco | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals | 34 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 7 | |
| Lee rf | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .300 |
| Adames ss | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .221 |
| Eldridge dh | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .248 |
| Devers 1b | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .247 |
| Basabe 2b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .257 |
| Gilbert cf | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .237 |
| Cavanaugh c | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .226 |
| McCray lf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .081 |
| Koss 3b | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .161 |
| Houston | 100 | 000 | 101 | 3_6 | 8 | 0 |
| San Francisco | 000 | 110 | 100 | 0_3 | 6 | 0 |
a-walked for Vázquez in the 10th.
1-ran for Walker in the 9th.
LOB_Houston 7, San Francisco 5. 2B_Alvarez (25), Paredes (21), Eldridge (15). HR_C.Smith (16), off Brubaker; Lee (9), off Wesneski; Gilbert (5), off Wesneski. RBIs_Altuve (35), C.Smith 2 (44), Peña (38), Paredes 2 (62), Gilbert 2 (24), Lee (46). SF_Altuve, Gilbert.
Runners left in scoring position_Houston 3 (Allen, Walker 2); San Francisco 3 (Cavanaugh, Lee, Devers). RISP_Houston 4 for 9; San Francisco 1 for 7.
Runners moved up_Adames. GIDP_Lee.
DP_Houston 1 (Peña, Walker).
| Houston | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wesneski | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 83 | 3.86 |
| Okert | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 2.16 |
| Hader, W, 4-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 1.00 |
| San Francisco | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tidwell | 5 | 2-3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 96 | 2.78 |
| Brubaker, BS, 1-2 | 2-3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 3.40 | |
| Hentges | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 2.60 | |
| Winn, H, 14 | 2-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2.88 | |
| D.Smith, BS, 2-4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 3.09 | |
| Foley, L, 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 5.62 |
Inherited runners-scored_Brubaker 2-0. IBB_off Foley (Trammell). WP_D.Smith, Foley.
ABS Challenge_Tidwell (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Okert (Ball-Confirmed); McCray (Strike-Overturned to Ball).
Pitch timer violations_Foley (pitcher).
Umpires_Home, Mark Wegner; First, Steven Jaschinski; Second, Nate Tomlinson; Third, Paul Clemons.
T_2:45. A_28,070 (41,915).
How did Hayden Wesneski pitch?
For the questions about Houston's rotation, Wesneski has so far been effective in his return from elbow surgery. The right-hander has completed at least 5 ⅔ innings in each of three outings with manageable pitch counts. He was highly efficient Monday. Wesneski worked seven innings on 83 pitches to match his longest start in the majors.
Two home runs marred his outing. Wesneski held the Giants scoreless until the fourth. Bryce Eldridge's one-out double gave San Francisco its first runner in scoring position. Rafael Devers worked a walk and Osleivis Basabe tapped an infield single to load the bases. Gilbert lofted a sacrifice fly to forge a 1-1 tie. Taylor Trammell's sliding catch on Drew Cavanaugh's sinking liner to left field prevented more.
In the fifth, Jung Hoo Lee spun on an inside cutter. Wesneski watched it leaning to one side, trying to will the ball foul. It did not comply. Lee's drive landed on the walkway beyond the brick right-field wall for a go-ahead home run. Smith answered in the seventh to retie the game. Wesneski, at just 69 pitches after six innings, returned for the seventh.
Houston's bullpen was mostly rested, but Wesneski's pitch count was still low. He had allowed only four hits to that point. Gilbert struck the fifth. Wesneski threw a 1-0 cutter that Gilbert arced into the arcade seats in right-center. The next three hitters went down in order. It was just the 10th start of seven or more innings by an Astros pitcher this season in 120 games. Wesneski has a 3.86 ERA in three starts.
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SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 10: Jeremy Peña #3 of the Houston Astros reacts after hitting an RBI single against the San Francisco Giants in the tenth inning at Oracle Park on August 10, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thien-An Truong/Getty Images) (Thien-An Truong/Getty Images)
Blade Tidwell tames Astros lineup
Blade Tidwell, a 25-year-old right-hander who entered with a 5.91 ERA in 32 career innings, made his fourth MLB start for the Giants. Houston's lineup mustered four hits in his 5 ⅔ innings. He allowed some loud contact but also induced 16 whiffs on 43 swings - 12 on 22 swings against his sweeper, which Houston's right-handed hitters struggled to pick up. He struck out six batters and walked only one.
Yordan Alvarez lined a one-out double in the first inning and took third on Paredes' flare single. Jose Altuve sent a sacrifice fly to the warning track in left to score the game's first run. Tidwell did not allow another.
Starting with Altuve, Tidwell retired 13 batters in a row. That took him into the fifth inning, when Smith stung a ground ball past first baseman Rafael Devers that was ruled a single. Tidwell stranded him then returned for the sixth, when the Astros squandered an opportunity.
Alvarez struck a one-out single. Paredes worked a walk. Altuve built a full count but could not check his swing on a sweeper that was not close to the zone. San Francisco called on a different right-hander, JT Brubaker, to face the left-handed Trammell. He got ahead 0-2 but lost Trammell on a walk that loaded the bases. Walker built a full count, too, and grounded out to end the inning.
How did Yordan Alvarez fare?
Alvarez had a quiet last week, by his standards, going 4-for-23 across six games against the Blue Jays and Padres. There was nothing quiet about the contact he made Monday.
Alvarez's sixth-inning single had a 118.5 mph exit velocity. It matched the hardest-hit ball in play of his career, per Baseball Savant, and is the hardest-hit base hit. Alvarez owns three of the four hardest-hit balls put in play in the majors this season. Oneil Cruz of the Pirates had a 119 mph double on April 16. Alvarez had a 118.5 mph ground out, his single Monday and a 117.8 mph double on April 18.
In two other at-bats against Tidwell, Alvarez pulled a 109 mph line drive that glanced off Lee's glove in right field for his first-inning double and a 109.8 mph groundout in the third inning. Alvarez accounted for the three hardest-hit balls of the game.
Astros injury updates
Mike Burrows is scheduled to make a rehab start Friday with Triple-A Sugar Land in his return from elbow neuritis, manager Joe Espada said. Burrows threw three innings and 55 pitches in a game Saturday at the Astros' minor-league complex in Florida, his first rehab outing.
Third baseman Carlos Correa has progressed to hitting off a tee in his recovery from left ankle surgery, Espada said. Correa was cleared last week to resume swinging a bat in his attempt to return this year. Outfielder Brice Matthews is still working up to running bases in his recovery from a knee sprain.
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There’s more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Houston Astros rally from brink of defeat to beat San Francisco Giants in 10 innings.
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