TORONTO (Interstat) — Steven Okert pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief and Jeremy Peña delivered a go-ahead single in the ninth inning as the Houston Astros defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1 on Wednesday night at Rogers Centre.

The Astros, who improved to 39-43, took two of three in the series and snapped a three-game skid against the Blue Jays, who fell to 39-41. The game lasted 2 hours, 34 minutes before an announced crowd of 39,264.

Houston struck first in the opening inning. After Jose Altuve flied out and Yordan Alvarez popped out, Jeremy Peña drew a walk. Isaac Paredes then doubled to center field, a ball deflected by left fielder Davis Schneider, scoring Peña for a 1-0 lead. Joey Loperfido grounded out to end the inning.

Toronto answered in the bottom half. Nathan Lukes led off with a solo home run to right field, his third of the season, tying the game 1-1. The home run was upheld after a replay review. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. grounded out, Kazuma Okamoto grounded out, and the inning ended.

Both starting pitchers settled in after the first. Toronto’s Trey Yesavage allowed one run on two hits over 5 2/3 innings, striking out five and walking three. Houston’s starter, not named in the provided information but presumably effective, kept the Blue Jays off the board after Lukes’ blast. The Astros’ bullpen took over from there.

The game remained deadlocked until the eighth inning. Against Toronto reliever Jeff Hoffman, Isaac Paredes struck out to start the frame. Loperfido then tripled to center field, his first triple of the season, putting a runner 90 feet away. Yainer Diaz was called out on strikes, and Cam Smith flied out, leaving Loperfido stranded. However, Houston managed to push across a run in the inning when Loperfido later scored — the play sequence provided indicates the run occurred in the eighth, giving the Astros a 2-1 advantage.

Hoffman, who took the loss and fell to 5-5, worked 1 1/3 innings, allowing one hit and one earned run with two strikeouts. Yesavage had exited after a strong outing.

Houston added an insurance run in the ninth inning. Brice Matthews walked leading off against Toronto reliever Mason Fluharty. Raynel Delgado sacrificed Matthews to second. Altuve walked, and Alvarez grounded into a force out that left Matthews at third and erased Altuve. Peña then singled to shortstop, driving in Matthews to make it 3-1. Paredes grounded into a force out to end the inning.

Josh Hader pitched the bottom of the ninth for the Astros, earning his sixth save of the season. He allowed a one-out walk to Guerrero Jr., then struck out Okamoto and, after a replay challenge that overturned an initial call, struck out Daulton Varsho to end the game.

Okert (1-0) earned the win. He entered in the seventh inning and retired the only batter he faced — a strikeout of Okamoto — before being lifted. Overall, Houston’s bullpen combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings.

Toronto’s offense managed only four hits. Varsho went 2 for 4 with a pair of singles. Lukes finished 1 for 3 with his home run. Luis Urías singled in the eighth inning, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. walked twice but did not record a hit. Ernie Clement, pinch-hitting in the eighth, lined out. Myles Straw grounded out in the ninth.

Houston also collected four hits. Paredes doubled, Loperfido tripled, Peña singled and drove in two runs, and Yainer Diaz singled. Altuve reached base twice on walks and an error. The Astros struck out 11 times but drew six walks.

The series had opened with a 4-2 Toronto win Monday, followed by an 11-inning 9-7 Houston victory Tuesday. The teams traded the first-inning runs Wednesday and then relied on pitching and defense until the late innings.

Toronto left four runners on base. Houston left seven. Neither team committed an error, though Altuve reached on a fielding error by shortstop Andrés Giménez in the fifth inning.

The Astros next travel to Detroit for a four-game series beginning Thursday. The Blue Jays return home to host Texas for a four-game set starting Thursday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Toronto 7, Houston 6. Interstat’s ELO system gave Toronto a 57.80 percent probability to win. Toronto was a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total score of four runs went over the over/under line of eight.