There’s some doubt that the Houston Astros have the starting pitching to win the American League West.

Imagine how much trouble they might be in if right-hander Peter Lambert hadn’t suddenly blossomed into their most dependable starting pitcher this season.

Lambert will try to keep the best year of his career going Saturday against the Padres in San Diego.

After going 8-19 in 74 games (35 starts) over parts of four years with Colorado, Lambert went 3-11 last year in 21 starts for Yakult in Japan.

Looking for some depth, Houston picked him up and unlocked the version of Lambert the Rockies tried to find for nine years.

Lambert (8-5, 3.06 ERA) is coming off a solid outing in his team’s 7-3 win Sunday over Texas, striking out eight over 5 2/3 innings while allowing two runs on three hits and two walks in a no-decision.

Lambert, 29, is 1-2 with a 7.67 ERA in nine career games (four starts) against San Diego.

The Astros maintained their 1 1/2-game lead on Texas in the American League West with a 6-3 win in Friday night’s series opener. Houston received two solo homers from Cam Smith that upped his average to .222.

“He’s swinging the bat really well, driving the ball and not missing his pitches,” Houston manager Joe Espada said of Smith. “He was really locking it in. It’s just time and experience; he’s worked with the hitting coach trying to get the barrel out. We need more of that.”

Smith has 13 hits in his last 30 at-bats, upping his average a whopping 18 points in that span. Those contributions are one reason the Astros have won 13 of the last 16 games.

Tasked with quieting the Houston bats is Michael King (6-8, 3.44), who’s looking for his first win since July 8. He’s coming off a 5-1 loss Monday night at Arizona, when he worked five-plus innings and allowed three runs on five hits while striking out five.

King is 3-1 with a 2.74 ERA in eight career outings against the Astros.

While Houston is rolling, San Diego lost ground Friday night, dropping two games behind Arizona and Philadelphia for the National League’s last wild-card spot. The Padres cut a four-run deficit to 4-3 but missed on late chances for a big hit that might have put them on top.

Pinch hitter Ty France struck out with two on to end the sixth inning and Luis Rengifo grounded out to strand the bases loaded in the seventh.

“Just couldn’t quite come through against their bullpen,” manager Craig Stammen said.

The Padres also squashed a third inning threat with a major baserunning gaffe. Sung-Mun Song, who led off with a single and reached second on an error, tried to steal third with Fernando Tatis Jr. batting and was nailed.

Stammen, who earlier in the year excused a similar gaffe by Tatis, wasn’t quite as forgiving this time.

“I should have had a red light for him down 3-0,” Stammen said. “Maybe I trust our baserunners a little bit too much in that situation.”

–Field Level Media

Ryan Waldschmidt hit a walk-off two-run homer with one out in the ninth inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Dodgers 4-3 in Phoenix on Friday, sending Los Angeles to its seventh consecutive loss.

Max Kepler walked to open the ninth off Edwin Diaz (1-1). Pinch runner Jorge Barrosa stole second with one out before Waldschmidt lined a 411-foot homer to left center. It was the rookie’s second homer, his first to end a game.

Nolan Arenado homered and Geraldo Perdomo had a double, a triple and an RBI for the D-backs. Tommy Edman had two hits and an RBI for the Dodgers.

Arizona starter Merrill Kelly no-hit the Dodgers for five innings before removing himself with a right leg cramp after giving up two hits, two walks and a run in the sixth. Dodgers starter Roki Sasaki gave up two runs and four hits in six innings.

Red Sox 13, Athletics 1

Payton Tolle recorded a career-high 14 strikeouts and Jarren Duran homered to help Boston extend its winning streak to nine games by beating the visiting Athletics.

Duran’s third home run in the past five games came against Jack Perkins (2-8) and ignited a five-run second inning. Tolle (7-6) didn’t allow a baserunner until Tyler Soderstrom led off the fifth with a homer. He was pulled after six innings, having yielded one run on two hits and no walks.

The Athletics were limited to two hits in their ninth consecutive loss. Perkins gave up five runs on five hits in three innings.

Yankees 3, Braves 2 (10 innings)

Ryan McMahon notched a walk-off sacrifice fly in the 10th inning and host New York rallied for a victory over Atlanta after a lengthy rain delay before the first pitch.

McMahon gave the Yankees just their second win in 10 extra-inning games this season when he followed two walks by lifting a fly ball to right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. off Tyler Kinley (6-5), Acuna’s throw was offline and automatic runner Luis Garcia Jr. easily scored.

David Bednar (5-3) tossed a scoreless top of the 10th. Austin Riley homered in the eighth off New York’s Fernando Cruz, and Matt Olson went deep in the ninth off Tim Hill for the Braves, who had their eight-game winning streak end.

Mets 6, Pirates 4

Marcus Semien hit a three-run homer and Carson Benge drove in two runs to lead New York to a win over host Pittsburgh.

The Mets matched their season high with a fourth consecutive victory. Semien’s homer highlighted a four-run third inning for New York, which jumped out to a 6-0 lead and held off a late Pirates rally in the ninth. Zac Thornton (3-2) threw five shutout innings.

A.J. Ewing finished with three hits to lead the Mets. Bryan Reynolds, Jared Triolo, Ronny Simon and Nick Gonzales each had two hits for the Pirates. Carmen Mlodzinski (6-4) yielded five runs on seven hits in three innings.

Guardians 8, White Sox 2

Angel Martinez hit a grand slam during a five-run fifth inning and finished with a career-high six RBIs for visiting Cleveland, which rolled to a win over Chicago.

Martinez opened the scoring with a two-run single in the first. Guardians starter Parker Messick (9-6) fanned eight while permitting two runs on four hits in seven innings.

White Sox starter Noah Schultz lasted just one out before being pulled because manager Will Venable visited him shortly after pitching coach Zach Bove visited the mound. Schultz (3-9) was charged with two runs on three hits with one strikeout.

Twins 8, Brewers 6

Josh Bell went 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs as visiting Minnesota outlasted Milwaukee.

Kaelen Culpepper hit a solo home run in his big-league debut for the Twins. Royce Lewis went 2-for-5 with an RBI double. Minnesota starter Zebby Matthews (5-8) allowed six runs, three earned, on seven hits in five innings.

Brice Turang went 2-for-4 with a two-RBI double for the Brewers, and Jackson Chourio socked his third homer in four games. Antonio Senzatela (9-3) gave up two runs on three hits in one inning of relief.

Angels 4, Marlins 3

Nolan Schanuel slugged a tiebreaking two-run homer in the seventh inning, lifting Los Angeles to a win at Miami.

Mike Trout homered on his 35th birthday for the Angels. Los Angeles reliever Shaun Anderson (2-0) got one out, and Jose Fermin pitched a one-run ninth to earn his first career save.

Kyle Stowers went 4-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs for the Marlins. Reliever Josh Ekness (0-1) served up Schanuel’s homer. Miami nearly tied the score in the ninth, but Los Angeles got the final out on left fielder Jose Siri’s throw to nail Leo Jimenez at the plate.

Nationals 5, Reds 3

Daylen Lile hit a three-run homer and Harry Ford added a two-run shot as host Washington beat Cincinnati.

Nationals starter Cade Cavalli (9-5) allowed seven hits and three runs in six-plus innings. He struck out eight and walked two. Clayton Beeter threw a perfect ninth inning for his 12th save.

With ace Hunter Greene going down for the season this week, the Reds were forced to go with a bullpen game. Reliever Julian Garcia (2-3) gave up two runs in 2 1/3 innings. Cincinnati got solo home runs from Eugenio Suarez, Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz.

Cubs 6, Royals 4

Kevin Gausman allowed two runs over seven solid innings in his Cubs debut and Pedro Ramirez homered and singled as Chicago won its fifth straight, defeating host Kansas City.

Acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays last weekend, Gausman (6-10) found a rhythm following a hectic first inning. He yielded just four hits and a walk while striking out four on 96 pitches as the Cubs improved to 19-6 in their past 25 road games.

Carter Jensen homered and Jac Caglianone had two hits for the Royals, who took their sixth loss in eight games. Royals opener Daniel Lynch IV (4-3) was charged with four runs on three hits over 1 2/3 innings.

Astros 6, Padres 3

Cam Smith homered twice and visiting Houston made it 13 wins in 16 games by downing San Diego.

Smith and Isaac Paredes each had three hits for the Astros. Houston reliever Bryan Abreu (4-3) threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings, and Josh Hader threw a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his 16th save in as many chances.

Robbie Ray (10-7) lost in his first San Diego start, breaking a 12-start undefeated streak. The left-hander gave up seven hits and four runs in five innings. Fernando Tatis Jr. homered and singled.

Rangers 2, Orioles 1

Joc Pederson homered in the sixth inning and Brandon Nimmo made a game-saving throw from right field in the ninth for Texas, which earned its third consecutive win by defeating Baltimore in Arlington, Texas.

The Rangers won despite mustering just three hits and a walk. It marked the fewest hits for Texas in a victory this season. Reliever Tyler Alexander (3-2) got two outs, and Jacob Latz fired two scoreless innings for his 22nd save.

Orioles starter Shane Baz (4-11) tied his career high with eight innings and tossed his first career complete game, albeit in a losing effort. He permitted two runs on three hits and a walk with nine strikeouts.

Cardinals 3, Rockies 2

Ivan Herrera hit a solo home run and Kyle Leahy fanned eight in five effective innings as St. Louis defeated visiting Colorado.

The Cardinals recorded just four hits yet won for the fourth time in five games to get back to .500. Leahy (8-4) allowed two runs on eight hits and no walks. Riley O’Brien got the final three outs for his 28th save.

Troy Johnston drove in both runs for the Rockies on groundouts. Ryan Feltner (4-6) gave up four hits and three runs in 5 1/3 innings.

Blue Jays 5, Phillies 4

Josh Smith collected three hits, including a homer, and scored three runs as visiting Toronto held on to nip Philadelphia.

Philadelphia scored twice in the ninth inning and had the bases loaded with one out before Blue Jays reliever Tyler Rogers got the final two outs — including covering first on a bang-bang play to end it. Lazaro Estrada (1-0) worked 1 1/3 frames for his first major league win, and Rogers picked up his fourth save.

Andres Gimenez hit an early home run for Toronto, and Alejandro Kirk provided a pair of sacrifice flies. Philadelphia starter Zack Wheeler (10-3) issued five walks in 5 1/3 innings while giving up four runs and seven hits. Bryce Harper had two hits and two RBIs.

Rays 2, Mariners 1

Drew Rasmussen pitched seven scoreless innings as Tampa Bay defeated host Seattle Mariners.

Jonny DeLuca and Jonathan Aranda homered for the Rays, who have won 13 of their past 17 games. Rasmussen (11-5) allowed just two hits, walked two and struck out eight.

The Mariners’ Julio Rodriguez homered with two outs in the ninth off Bryan Baker, who then fanned Josh Naylor to complete his major-league-leading 33rd save. Seattle starter Logan Gilbert (8-7) gave up two runs on four hits over 6 2/3 innings.

Giants 5, Tigers 2

Rafael Devers and Willy Adames hit home runs, Adrian Houser threw five innings of effective relief and San Francisco opened a three-game home series with a victory over Detroit.

Devers opened the scoring with a two-run shot in the first before Jung Hoo Lee chipped in with a two-run single as the Giants retook the lead for good in the second. Houser (3-7) allowed a game-tying run on an RBI single by Zach McKinstry, the only run he surrendered.

Detroit starter Keider Montero (8-7) surrendered five runs on five hits in six innings. Kevin McGonigle and Spencer Torkelson collected three hits apiece, and McKinstry had two for the Tigers. Detroit stranded 12 on base, going 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

–Field Level Media