Zack Greinke recorded his first win of the season, and Martin Maldonado drilled a three-run home run in the sixth inning as the host Houston Astros claimed the rubber match of a three-game interleague series against the San Francisco Giants 5-1 on Wednesday.

Greinke (1-0) allowed a leadoff triple to Giants center fielder Mike Yastrzemski and an RBI single to the second batter he faced, Alex Dickerson, before handcuffing the Giants into the seventh inning.

He notched his 14th career victory over San Francisco, tied for his most against any opponent, by allowing one run on seven hits and a walk with seven strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings.

Greinke threw a season-high 94 pitches, putting his defense to work, as the Giants managed several deep drives hauled in by Astros outfielders. Still, the final result proved effective enough.

The Astros erased the 1-0 deficit in the fifth when Alex Bregman delivered a flare into shallow center field off right-hander Dereck Rodriguez that scored George Springer from second base.

Houston pounced on Giants left-hander Caleb Baragar (2-1) to open the sixth.

Carlos Correa, Kyle Tucker and Abraham Toro notched base hits in succession, and Correa scored on a Baragar wild pitch with Maldonado at the plate. Maldonado followed with his second home run this season, lining a 93.2 mph fastball into the seats in left field.

The 369-foot home run marked the 16th consecutive game that Giants pitching has allowed a homer, extending a club record. San Francisco pitching has surrendered 30 home runs, the second-highest total in the majors behind the Arizona Diamondbacks (43).

All that remained was for the beleaguered Houston bullpen, which surrendered nine runs over the opening two games of this season, to preserve the lead once Greinke departed with two runners on in the top of the seventh. Left-hander Brooks Raley, acquired earlier this week in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds, did his job with aplomb by retiring all five batters he faced.

Astros rookie left-hander Blake Taylor, who allowed a three-run pinch homer to Hunter Pence in the seventh inning Tuesday, retired the side in order in the ninth.

--Field Level Media