HOUSTON (AP) \u2014 Victor Caratini homered, Isaac Paredes drove in a run and the Houston Astros shut out the Philadelphia Phillies for a second straight game with a 2-0 victory on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
Houston starter Colton Gordon (3-1) allowed four singles and struck out four in five innings. Josh Hader struck out one in the ninth for his 21st save.<\/p>\n
Jeremy Pe\u00f1a hit a leadoff ground-rule double and scored on a groundball single by Isaac Paredes to give Houston an early lead.<\/p>\n
Houston\u2019s pitching staff had retired nine straight when Brandon Marsh singled to right field off Bryan King with one out in the eighth. Trea Turner\u2019s single on a grounder to center field sent Marsh to third before Kyle Schwarber singled on an infield grounder to load the bases.<\/p>\n
But, King struck out Alec Bohm before Nick Castellanos grounded out to leave Philadelphia empty-handed.<\/p>\n
Caratini\u2019s solo shot came with two outs in the bottom of the inning to give the Astros an insurance run.<\/p>\n
Wednesday\u2019s win comes after the Astros got a 1-0 victory in Tuesday\u2019s series opener.<\/p>\n
Philadelphia starter Zack Wheeler (7-3) yielded four hits and a run while striking out eight in six innings.<\/p>\n
The Phillies had runners on first and second with one out in the fifth, but Gordon struck out Marsh and Turner to end the threat.<\/p>\n
Jake Meyers sprinted to make a catch on the warning track in center field on a ball hit by Bryson Stott for the second out of the seventh inning.<\/p>\n
Key moment<\/p>\n
King shutting the Phillies down after loading the bases in the eighth to preserve the lead.<\/p>\n
Key stat<\/p>\n
Wednesday was the sixth time the Phillies have been shut out this season. Philadelphia has not scored a run in 19 straight innings.<\/p>\n
Up next<\/p>\n
Houston RHP Hunter Brown (8-3, 1.88 ERA), whose ERA leads the majors, opposes LHP Cristopher S\u00e1nchez (6-2, 2.87) when the series concludes Thursday.<\/p>\n
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