HOUSTON — Jack Flaherty got bit by the third-time-through-the-order blues Monday night as the Houston Astros rallied from a three-run deficit to beat the Tigers, 8-5, in the first of three at Daikin Park.

In a relatively small sample size — his first five starts — opponents had an .807 OPS against him the third time through the order and an .872 OPS in pitches 76 through 100, with two doubles and two homers. Last season, in a larger sample, opponents seeing Flaherty a third time also had an .807 OPS with eight homers.

Flaherty brought a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the sixth and Jeremy Pena opened the inning with a sharp single to right.

Jose Altuve followed, launching a 93-mph fastball over the high wall in left.

It was a rough ending to what was looking like another quality start for Flaherty.

Against an Astros lineup stocked with eight right-handed hitters, he deftly used his four-seam fastball and knuckle-curveball to keep the hitters off balance.

His disposition changed, though, in the fourth. He got two quick outs and was ahead of former Tiger Isaac Paredes 1-2. He ended up walking Paredes, spraying three straight pitches.

He was visibly upset and catcher Dillon Dingler used a mound visit to settle him down.

Flaherty got ahead of a slumping Christian Walker 1-2 but couldn’t put him away either. After missing with two straight curveballs, he challenged him with a 3-2 fastball.

Walker smoked it. The ball left his bat at 105.7 mph and soared 399 feet off the signage just under the train tracks that run above the left-field wall.

Flaherty recovered with a clean fifth and was at 80 pitches entering the fatal sixth.

The game got completely away from the Tigers in the seventh.

Shortstop Trey Sweeney, who had two throwing errors during the just-completed homestand and several other errant throws that first baseman Spencer Torkelson rescued, sprayed throws on back-to-back hitters.

He fielded a tough short hop on a ball hit by Yainer Diaz and his flat-footed throw to first base took Torkelson off the bag. On the next swing, Cam Smith hit what looked to be a routine double-play ball.

Sweeney’s throw to second went into right field.

Both of those runners scored on a bloop single by Mauricio Dubon and the floodgates were open.

The Astros ended up scoring four unearned runs in the inning. Ironically, the inning finally ended with a sensational diving catch in right field by Riley Greene.

Umpires initially signaled the ball was down, safe, and the runners kept running as Greene jogged in. He knew he caught the ball and video review confirmed that he did.

The Tigers flashed some oppo power to build a 3-0 lead against Astros’ right-hander Ronel Blanco.

In the third inning with a runner at first and two outs, lefty-swinging Kerry Carpenter worked a full-count and swatted a 94-mph fastball on a majestic arc over the high wall in left-center field.

It was his 50th career homer, the sixth this season.

Greene hit one in almost the same spot in the fourth and hit another into the Crawford boxes in left field in the eighth, a two-run shot.

Greene, who went a stretch of 76 plate appearances without a homer earlier this month, now has hit three in three games and has six on the year.

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