SAN DIEGO -- The Houston Astros have struggled all year against good pitching, so it wasn't a big surprise that they didn't fare so well against San Diego Padres right-hander Jake Peavy on Tuesday.

The only problem was that Peavy's nearly flawless complete game meant another undeserved loss for Roger Clemens, who came up on the short end of a 2-0 score to the Padres before 37,985 at PETCO Park who witnessed an outstanding pitching matchup.

The shutout was the Astros' 15th this season, and seventh during games that Clemens started. It was their third shutout this month, and their third in less than two weeks. They were shut out in back-to-back games by the Pirates in the middle of their recent 13-game homestand.

"How stupid can it get?" manager Phil Garner said. "You just keep getting shut out, it's just stupid. It's hard to get shut out in today's game. Somebody's going to get a hit, drive in a run. But we're just having a heck of a time with it."

Both starting pitchers went the distance -- efficiently. The game lasted all of 1 hour, 53 minutes, and featured nine hits between the two teams. Peavy shut out the Astros with 116 pitches, Clemens threw 84.

The Astros had a few chances to score, but failed to capitilize on those rare instances. Their best opportunity came and went in the sixth, when Willy Taveras knocked an infield single and advanced to second on an error by catcher Miguel Olivo.

Craig Biggio's intention was to move Taveras to third with a grounder toward the right side of the infield, but instead he hit a line drive right to second baseman Mark Loretta. Taveras advanced to third on Lance Berkman's single, but after Morgan Ensberg walked to load the bases, Taveras was eliminated on Jason Lane's fielder's choice groundout, and Chris Burke ended the inning with a grounder to short.

The third inning was a letdown, too. Adam Everett led off with a double, but after Brad Ausmus walked, Clemens' bunt was hard enough that first baseman Xavier Nady had time to throw to third baseman Joe Randa for the forceout. Taveras had the same results on his bunt, which fell flat after bouncing in front of the plate, giving Olivo plenty of time to throw to third to nab Ausmus.

Said Garner: "When you're facing somebody like Peavy, when he's throwing like he was throwing tonight, that's going to be the difference in the game -- whether you can execute when you get an opportunity to get the run across the board without having to get a hit."

Clemens was mad at himself for his part in the missed opportunity.

"Once I go on deck and i see how the inning's unfolding, I go to the plate and try to do my job there, also," he said. "I know that if I execute a bunt or a hit and run, I know I can help myself four or five games throughout the year. I didn't do that tonight. That's disheartening, too."

Clemens, looking to become just the second 340-game winner since the early 1900s, fell to 11-6 despite throwing one of his best games of the year. He allowed five hits over eight frames, struck out seven and walked one.

He yielded a leadoff triple to Dave Roberts in the first and an RBI single to Brian Giles, giving the Padres a 1-0 lead that would hold up until the seventh, when Giles knocked a homer.

"He flipped the ball over third base for a base hit, but he hits the home run for the good shot," Garner said. "You don't hit cheap home runs here. [Giles] deserved that."

Said Giles: "You've got to go up expecting the fastball, and adjust. He's extremely effective with it when he puts it where he wants to put it. On the homer, he got it up, and I put a good swing on it."

Clemens may have been the reason why the Padres' downtown ballpark was close to capacity, but it was Peavy who brought the fans to their feet, chanting "Peavy! Peavy!" during his eighth-inning at-bat. Peavy was outstanding, allowing four hits in his fourth career win over the Astros.

The shutout was the third Peavy has thrown this year. The Astros' clubhouse was quiet after the game, but what little talk there was mostly surrounding the 24-year-old right-hander's mastery.

"Today's shutout was fitting from the standpoint that he pitched great," Biggio said. "He didn't give us many opportunities. You tip your hat. He's one of the bright young stars in the game, an All-Star, and he's been their ace all season. Nothing to be disappointed about tonight. It was one of those things where we got beat."

Upon hearing that Peavy idolized Clemens throughout his childhood, Clemens laughed and said, "Thanks, you made me feel old."

"I've had the chance to talk to a lot of young guys and Jake's definitely in that mode," Clemens continued. "When I step away from this game, our game's in good hands. We have some good, young talented guys and definitely pitchers, and he's right there at the top of the list. He attacks the strike zone and he has a lot of confidence.

"You feel you passed the baton along to the next generation of guys, and it's good to see our game's in good hands."