HOUSTON (Interstat) — Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning to lift the Baltimore Orioles to a 3-2 win over the Houston Astros on Friday night at Daikin Park.

Ward’s blast to left-center scored Adley Rutschman and erased a 2-1 deficit. Baltimore had tied the game in the third on a walk to Pete Alonso with the bases loaded.

Houston took a 1-0 lead in the first on Yordan Alvarez’s RBI double and went ahead 2-1 in the third on Isaac Paredes’ sacrifice fly.

Cam Sanders (1-0) earned the win with relief help from Anthony Nunez, who pitched two scoreless innings, and Tyler Wells, who recorded his third save. Bryan King (2-3) took the loss.

The Astros outhit Baltimore 6-5 but stranded key opportunities. Dean Kremer started for Baltimore, allowing two earned runs over four innings with five strikeouts.

The Orioles improved to 47-51, while the Astros fell to 47-52. The game drew 31,867 fans and lasted 3 hours, 13 minutes.