Houston Astros catcher Martin Maldonado sure knows how to break out of an offensive slump.
Maldonado, who is slashing just .175/.258/.275 this season, broke out in a big way on Tuesday, May 9, in Anaheim.
In fact, he got the ball rolling in the top of the fifth for the Astros, starting with a two-run monster blast against Los Angels Angels starter Shohei Ohtani.
Watch Maldonado's home run below.
Houston went on to tag Ohtani with three runs in the fifth inning en route to a 3-1 victory, including an RBI single by Yordan Alvarez to pad the Astros lead.
Wednesday's win brought Houston back to .500 while handing Ohtani his first loss of the season.
Framber Valdez (3-4, 2.38 ERA) was phenomenal on the mound, tossing eight solid innings while giving up just three hits, one run and striking out 12.
Ohtani (4-1, 2.74 ERA), meanwhile, was lifted after seven innings -- allowing three runs (all earned) on six hits with seven strikeouts.
Ryan Pressly garnered his fifth save of the season, tossing a scoreless ninth inning with two strikeouts while not allowing a single hit.
Houston returns to the diamond for the rubber game of the three-game series with Los Angeles on Wednesday, May 10 in Anaheim.
The Astros will send Christian Javier (2-1, 3.54 ERA) to the hill while the Angels will counter with Griffin Canning (2-0, 5.31 ERA).
First pitch for Wednesday's game is slated for 3:07 p.m. CT at Angel Stadium.
The Astros are currently tied for third place in the American League West with Seattle (18-18) -- 1.5 games behind the Angels (20-17) and 3.5 games behind the Texas Rangers (21-14).
More must-reads: