BALTIMORE (AP) — Anthony Santander hit a grand slam off Bryan Abreu in the eighth inning, carrying the Baltimore Orioles to a 7-5 comeback victory over the Houston Astros on Friday night.

Baltimore managed only three hits and trailed 5-2 before rallying to end Houston’s nine-game road winning streak. Colton Cowser and Adley Rutschman singled before Abreu (2-2) snagged a comebacker but was late trying to get Cowser leaning off third base, loading the bases.

“The route you want him to go is a 1-6-3 double play,” manager Joe Espada said. “But his first reaction is, he sees the runner break and instincts take over.”

Santander then ripped a 2-1 fastball over the right-field wall for his 38th home run of the season. His second slam this season and the fourth of his career set off a wild celebration among the crowd of nearly 40,000.

“I’m so happy the fans stayed in that kind of game to support us,” Santander said.

Ramón Urías tacked on an RBI triple to cap the five-run outburst.

Craig Kimbrel (7-4) worked the eighth and Seranthony Domínguez got three outs for his fifth save, the fourth since coming to Baltimore in a July trade with Philadelphia.

Jose Altuve and Jeremy Peña homered for Houston, and starter Hunter Brown pitched six innings of three-hit balls.

In the end, that didn’t matter for a first-place team looking to pad its lead in the AL West.

“The way I see it is, we’ve got to turn the page, flush that one and get ready for tomorrow,” Espada said.

The Astros were 10 games out of first place on June 18. Now they’re in control of the division, but Espada knows things can change in a hurry.

“It feels good to be in this spot, but we’re not spiking the football,” the manager said. “There’s a lot of baseball left.”

The Orioles, meanwhile, scrambled to avoid their sixth loss in eight games.

“We’ve been struggling a little bit the last couple of weeks, and that was a big hit right there,” Santander said. “It’s a reminder who we are.”

Trainer’s room

Astros: Yordan Alvarez (.306, 25 HRs, 67 RBIs) was a late scratch with neck stiffness. He was replaced at DH by Alex Bregman, who was initially penciled in at 3B — his first game in the field since Aug. 14. Bregman has been nursing an elbow injury, which caused him to miss five games and could result in a move to 1B in the near future. “It’s going to be a fluid situation,” Espada said.

Orioles: CF Cedric Mullins left in the fifth inning with left quad tightness. … 1B Ryan Mountcastle wasn’t in the lineup after hurting his wrist while running the bases on Thursday.

Up next

Houston lefty Framber Valdez (13-5, 3.20 ERA) looks to win his sixth straight start Saturday and improve to 9-0 since June 18. Albert Suárez (6-4, 3.18), who’s had three straight scoreless outings, starts for Baltimore.