Colby Rasmus homered and drove in three runs as the surprising Houston Astros beat the San Diego Padres 9-4 Monday night for their fourth straight victory.
Jed Lowrie and Jason Castro also homered for the AL West leaders, who have won nine of 10. Jose Altuve had two hits and an RBI double against San Diego ace James Shields in the opener of a three-game interleague series.
Pat Neshek (1-0) retired the only two hitters he faced to earn the win.
The game was tied at 4 in the eighth inning before Joaquin Benoit (3-1) yielded three runs as Houston took the lead for good. Rasmus and Chris Carter each drove home a run in the inning.
Cory Mazzoni made his major league debut in the ninth for the Padres and gave up a two-run homer to Rasmus.
Copyright AP - Associated Press
