HOUSTON – Phil Garner opened his tenure as manager of the Houston Astros with a loss.

Mark Loretta’s three-run double backed Jake Peavy, who sent Andy Pettitte to his third straight loss and led the San Diego Padres to a 5-1 victory Friday night.

Garner, who managed Milwaukee and Detroit to a combined 708-802 record during parts of 11 seasons, replaced Jimy Williams on Wednesday, the day after Houston hosted the All-Star game. The Astros lost for the seventh time in nine games, dropping to 44-45 and falling under .500 for the first time since they were 1-2 on April 7.

Houston dropped a season-high 12 games behind NL Central-leading St. Louis, which has won 10 of 11 games.

Pettitte (5-3), who left the New York Yankees for the chance to pitch for his hometown Astros, allowed four runs and seven hits over five innings in his first career start against San Diego.

Peavy (6-3), who struggled against Houston on July 7 in his second start after coming off the DL, allowed one run and six hits in five-plus innings.

Khalil Greene, Peavy and Jeff Cirillo singled in the second before Loretta drove them in with a double that went just over the outstretched glove of All-Star center fielder Carlos Beltran.

Ryan Klesko and Jeff Cirillo added run-scoring doubles in the fifth and sixth fpr a 5-0 lead.

Beltran hit an RBI triple in the sixth, and Houston loaded the bases. Scott Linebrink relieved Peavy and retired Jeff Bagwell on a flyout, then struck out Brad Ausmus and got Adam Everett on another flyout.

The crowd of 39,106 booed, and many fans started heading for the exits by the thousands.

Notes: Pettitte threw a ball past home plate in the third, but Ausmus scrambled to retrieve it and flipped the ball to Pettitte, who tagged out Jay Payton. … Beltran had his first hit in Houston after going 0-for-11 in a three-game series against Texas last week.

AP-ES-07-16-04 2315EDT