Houston Astros at San Francisco Giants

This was a game the Astros simply couldn’t afford to lose, and it looked like they were going to do just that when they were down to their final strike in the ninth inning Monday night against the Giants at Oracle Park. In fact, the Giants’ win probability was 92 percent when Daulton Varsho flied out for the second out. With a runner at first base and Cam Smith at the plate with an 0-2 count, a wild pitch moved the tying run into scoring position, and Smith hit an RBI single to right field to force extra innings. The Astros didn’t stop there, scoring three more times in the 10th inning -- Jeremy Peña snapped an 0-for-24 slump with an RBI single and Isaac Paredes added a two-run double -- to send Houston to an improbable 6-3 win over the Giants in the series opener. “It came down to the last strike,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “Cam Smith with the big knock the other way against a tough righty. We just competed. Our guys didn’t give up.” Instead of falling back to .500 with what would have been their third loss in a row, the Astros improved to 61-59 and maintained their tenuous half-game lead in the American League West over the Rangers. Houston is 14-6 since July 20 -- the second-best record in the big leagues in that span behind Boston. “To come back in the ninth and scrape one out, it changes the momentum of how things are going,” Astros pitcher Hayden Wesneski said. “We had two tough losses in San Diego and we end up losing this one and it’s three in a row and now it’s a streak. Instead we had a huge win and it swings the momentum and we feel good about it.”