Astros 5, Brewers 4: Freddy Peralta unable to hold a pair of leads as Houston rallies to win

HOUSTON – The Milwaukee Brewers offense clubbed a pair of home runs off the opposing starting pitcher, including a go-ahead three-run shot.

But so did the Houston Astros.

Twice staked to a lead during his five innings of work, Brewers No. 1 starter Freddy Peralta twice gave it back promptly, with a two-run Jake Meyers homer and a three-run Jeremy Peña blast accounting for all the Astros' runs in Houston's 5-4 win to open a three-game series at Minute Maid Park on Friday night.

The Astros' responses wasted home runs by the Brewers' Jake Bauers and Joey Ortiz, which staked Milwaukee to a 4-2 lead entering the bottom of the fifth.

Milwaukee wasn't without its chances after that, though. It went 1 for 11 with runners on base and did nothing with a leadoff double in the third as well as leadoff singles in each inning between the fifth and seventh.

Former Brewers closer Josh Hader picked up the save, the first of his career against Milwaukee.

Freddy Peralta coughs a lead up for the second time

Just as he did in the second inning, Freddy Peralta allowed a go-ahead home run after the Brewers offense gave him the lead. This time it came off the bat of Jeremy Peña, who went down and lined a slider at the knees out to left field for a three-run homer to turn a 4-2 Astros deficit into a 5-4 lead.

This marked the first start for Peralta this year with multiple home runs allowed.

Peralta finished the day after five innings having allowed five runs, all earned, on eight hits, a walk and struck out six.

Joey Ortiz just keeps on hitting

The Brewers may have the best catcher in baseball, a resurgent Christian Yelich and a breakout all-star candidate in Brice Turang, but Joey Ortiz might be the best thing going for them right now. In his last 15 games coming in, Ortiz was batting .311 with a .418 OBP and 1.152 OPS. He's only raised those numbers by doubling in his first at-bat and then lining a three-run homer to right field in his second.

The homer, Ortiz's fifth of the year, gave the Brewers a 4-2 lead in the fourth. It was a three-run shot off Astros starter Hunter Brown, who had walked Jake Bauers and Sal Frelick.

Ortiz would later add a single to lead off the seventh to move within a triple shy of the cycle but was thrown out attempting to steal second.

Freddy Peralta gives the lead right back to the Astros after getting it

Willy Adames bobbled a relay throw on a tailor-made double play that would have ended the second inning and it came back to bite the Brewers when Freddy Peralta hung a 3-1 pitch to Jake Meyers. The Astros leftfielder lined it out to the Crawford Boxes in left for a two-run homer to put Houston ahead, 2-1.

Jake Bauers visits the second deck

A second or two after thunder rumbled outside Minute Maid Park, Jake Bauers' bat created some of his own, sending a homer to the second deck to put the Brewers up, 1-0. Bauers' fifth homer of the year was hit 108.2 mph off the bat and traveled 412 feet. Bauers entered the day batting .333 with three homers and 13 RBI in his last 14 games.

Strong relay gets Freddy Peralta out of the first

With two outs in the bottom of the first, Kyle Tucker launched a fly ball toward the sharp-angled nook in left field. It traveled 366 feet but just barely missed being a home run to the Crawford Boxes located to the left and bounded back off the fence. Tucker attempted to stretch the hit into a triple but a relay from Christian Yelich to Willy Adames to Joey Ortiz nabbed him by fractions of a second at third base.

Brewers time, TV, radio

The Brewers game starts at 7:10 p.m. Friday

TV: Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio: AM-620 and a state network

Milwaukee Brewers lineup

• Brice Turang 2B

• William Contreras C

• Christian Yelich LF

• Willy Adames SS

• Jake Bauers 1B

• Gary Sánchez DH

• Sal Frelick CF

• Joey Ortiz 3B

• Jackson Chourio RF

• Freddy Peralta SP

Houston Astros lineup

• Jose Altuve 2B

• Jeremy Peña SS

• Kyle Tucker RF

• Alex Bregman 3B

• Yainer Diaz DH

• Jon Singleton 1B

• Jake Meyers CF

• Victor Caratini C

• Joey Loperfido LF

• Hunter Brown SP

What is the Brewers record?

The Brewers are 26-17.

Brewers schedule

Brewers at Astros 6:10 p.m. Saturday. Milwaukee RHP Bryse Wilson (2-1, 2.65) vs. Houston RHP Justin Verlander (2-1, 3.38). Broadcasts: TV – Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620.

Brewers at Astros 1:10 p.m. Sunday. Milwaukee RHP Colin Rea (3-1, 3.45) vs. Houston RHP Spencer Arrighetti (1-4, 7.52). Broadcasts: TV – Bally Sports Wisconsin. Radio – AM-620.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Houston Astros hit two homers off Freddy Peralta to beat Brewers, 5-4