HOUSTON (Interstat) — Jeremy Peña and Yordan Alvarez delivered back-to-back home runs in the eighth inning Wednesday night, lifting the Houston Astros to a 5-2 victory over the Miami Marlins at Daikin Park before a crowd of 26,099.

The Astros, who entered the game having lost four of their previous five, snapped a 2-2 tie with a three-run eighth that silenced a Miami club that had battled back from an early deficit. Houston improved to 50-54, while Miami fell to 52-51.

The game lasted 2 hours, 30 minutes.

Miami drew first blood in the fourth inning. With one out, Griffin Conine walked. Javier Sanoja followed with a double to right field, scoring Conine and tying the game at 1-1. Joe Mack then singled to left, plating Sanoja and giving the Marlins a 2-1 lead. The rally came after Houston had taken a 1-0 advantage in the second on Nick Allen’s run-scoring single and expanded it to 2-0 in the third on Peña’s solo homer to left, his ninth of the season.

Miami starter Sandy Alcantara settled in after the early struggles, retiring eight of nine batters at one point. He departed after six innings, having allowed two earned runs on four hits with three strikeouts and two walks.

Houston starter Peter Lambert matched Alcantara’s length, going six innings and allowing two earned runs on six hits. He struck out three and walked two.

The game remained deadlocked through the middle innings. Miami threatened in the fifth when Heriberto Hernández doubled with two outs, but Xavier Edwards grounded out to end the inning. Houston put a runner on in the fifth when Peña singled, but Yordan Alvarez grounded into a double play.

In the sixth, Miami’s Liam Hicks singled with one out, but the Marlins could not advance him. The Astros got a leadoff single from Isaac Paredes in the bottom half, but LaMonte Wade Jr. flew into a force out and Yainer Diaz flied out.

Neither team mounted a serious threat in the seventh. Miami’s Esteury Ruiz singled with one out, but Otto Lopez popped out and Kyle Stowers struck out. Houston went quietly, with Lucas Spence, Allen and Christian Vázquez all recording outs.

The decisive eighth inning began with Miami’s offense going down in order. Xavier Edwards lined out, Liam Hicks flied out and Conine grounded out. That set the stage for Houston’s breakout.

Peña led off the bottom of the eighth with a single to shortstop. Alvarez then launched his 34th home run of the season to left-center field, scoring Peña and giving the Astros a 4-2 lead. Paredes followed with his 14th homer, also to left-center, extending the lead to 5-2. Wade struck out, Diaz grounded out and Christian Walker struck out to end the inning.

Houston reliever Steven Okert earned the win, his third against one loss. He pitched a scoreless seventh inning, allowing no hits and striking out one. Bryan Abreu recorded his sixth save of the season with a perfect ninth, striking out one. Alcantara took the loss, dropping to 10-6.

For the Astros, Peña led the way with three hits in four at-bats, including the home run and an RBI. Alvarez had two hits in four at-bats with a homer and two RBIs. Nick Allen was 1-for-3 with an RBI. For Miami, Heriberto Hernández doubled and singled, while Sanoja doubled and drove in a run. Joe Mack had a hit and an RBI. Otto Lopez, Esteury Ruiz and Liam Hicks each singled.

Houston finished with nine hits to Miami’s seven. The Astros committed no errors; the Marlins made one on a fielding error by center fielder Ruiz in the fourth inning that did not lead to a run.

The victory gave Houston a series win after splitting the first two games. The Astros won Tuesday’s contest 5-3 and Monday’s game 8-5. Miami, meanwhile, dropped its fourth consecutive game and fell to 3-7 in its last 10.

Miami returns home Friday to open a three-game series against the San Diego Padres. Houston travels to Chicago for a three-game set against the White Sox, beginning Friday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Miami 3, Houston 2. Interstat’s ELO system gave Houston a 51.90 percent probability to win. The Astros were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5. The total of seven runs went over the over-under line of 7.5.