HOUSTON (Interstat) — The Houston Astros scored six runs in the eighth inning Wednesday night, erasing a four-run deficit and rallying past the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-9 at Daikin Park.

The come-from-behind victory before 26,956 fans evened the three-game series at one game apiece after Pittsburgh won the opener Tuesday. The Pirates took a 9-5 lead into the bottom of the eighth, but the Astros sent 10 batters to the plate and turned the game around with a combination of clutch hits, walks and a costly Pittsburgh error.

Pittsburgh starter Paul Skenes pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits and three earned runs while striking out seven. He left with the Pirates ahead 3-2, but the bullpen could not hold the lead. Gregory Soto, the losing pitcher, fell to 4-1 on the season after failing to record an out in the eighth.

The decisive rally began with two quick outs. After Jake Meyers struck out and Brice Matthews struck out, Nick Allen doubled to left field. Christian Vázquez followed with a double to center, scoring Allen to make it 9-6. Jeremy Peña walked, and Yordan Alvarez singled to center, driving in Vázquez and sending Peña to third. The Pirates then brought in Soto, but Christian Walker greeted him with a ground ball to second base. Brandon Lowe fielded it but made a throwing error, allowing Peña to score and sending pinch runner Zach Cole to third, cutting the lead to 9-8.

Isaac Paredes walked, loading the bases, and a wild pitch by Soto allowed Cole to score the tying run and move Walker to second and Paredes to third. Cam Smith then delivered the decisive blow, a ground ball triple to right field that scored Walker and Paredes, giving Houston an 11-9 advantage. Smith finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs.

The Pirates had taken the lead in the top of the eighth. With one out, Brandon Lowe walked, and Nick Gonzales doubled to left, driving in Lowe to make it 9-5. But the Pirates could not add more, and the Astros answered in the bottom half.

Henry Davis provided much of Pittsburgh’s early offense. In the fourth inning, with the Pirates trailing 2-0, Davis launched a grand slam to left field, his fifth home run of the season, scoring Marcell Ozuna, Jhostynxon Garcia and Jared Triolo to put Pittsburgh ahead 4-2. The Pirates added single runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh. In the sixth, Oneil Cruz walked, advanced on a free pass to Ozuna and scored on a Triolo single. In the seventh, Bryan Reynolds singled, and Nick Gonzales hit a two-run homer, his second of the year, to extend the lead to 7-3. Later in the inning, Garcia doubled to score Cruz, making it 8-3. Pittsburgh added another in the eighth before the Astros stormed back.

Houston had taken an early 2-0 lead in the third inning. Nick Allen led off with a bunt single, moved to second on a groundout and scored on Alvarez’s single. Jeremy Peña, who walked, scored on a single by Isaac Paredes. Paredes also homered in the seventh inning, a two-run shot that cut the Pirates’ lead to 8-5 before Pittsburgh answered in the top of the eighth.

Alvarez was a constant threat, going 4-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Paredes finished 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. For Pittsburgh, Gonzales went 2-for-5 with a homer, a double and three RBIs. Davis drove in four runs with his grand slam.

AJ Blubaugh earned the win, improving to 3-2, with a scoreless inning of relief. Josh Hader recorded his first save of the season, pitching a perfect ninth inning with one strikeout. Hader allowed no hits and no runs in his one inning of work. For Pittsburgh, Yohan Ramírez pitched 2 1/3 innings, allowing two earned runs on two hits while striking out two, but the bullpen overall could not contain Houston’s late surge.

The game lasted 3 hours, 42 minutes. The Pirates fell to 33-29, while the Astros improved to 28-35. The series concludes Thursday with the teams playing again at Daikin Park before Pittsburgh travels to Atlanta and Houston hosts in upcoming series.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a 6-5 Houston victory, and the ELO system gave the Astros a 53.4 percent probability to win. Pittsburgh had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5 runs, but the total of 20 runs went well under the over-under line of 7.5.