SAN DIEGO -- A night after the Padres feared they had lost Adrian Gonzalez to a knee injury, the star first baseman returned to the lineup Wednesday night.

Gonzalez reported to Petco Park early in the day feeling soreness but showing little effects of what he described as a tweaking of the muscles around his right knee. Padres trainers ran Gonzalez through a battery of tests before clearing him to extend his major league-best streak of 284 consecutive games played.

That was the good news.

Not much else went right for the Padres on Wednesday, as the Houston Astros rolled to a 7-1 victory in front of 16,670 at Petco. The Padres fell 15 games behind the National League West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.

At this point in the season, however, the loss of Gonzalez for a significant period would have been devastating to a Padres club that's already without pitchers Jake Peavy and Chris Young and outfielder Brian Giles.

Gonzalez injured the knee on an awkward slide into third base on Tuesday night after legging out the seventh triple of his career.

"(Manager Bud Black) came in the training room and I ran around the training room to show him I could play, and that was all," Gonzalez said. "I knew if it was something really bad, I would have said something. I didn't say a word for three or four pitches. I figured I'd play through it, but they decided to take me out."

Black was uncertain after Tuesday's game how badly Gonzalez was injured, but he said he sensed that the team leader in home runs and RBIs was OK. Gonzalez had walked off the field without assistance. Then Black received further proof from Gonzalez's training room display.

"There was all sorts of movement," Black said. "He was bouncing around like a spry young man."

After the game, Gonzalez said he was sore but feeling good after being tested several times during the game.

"There's nothing to be concerned about," Gonzalez said. "There were a couple of ground balls where I had to make some quick movements, and it responded well. There was the pick from Chase (Headley) that I had to run out there, stop, throw and it responded well. Overall, it was not bad."

Gonzalez (0-for-3 with a walk) and the rest of the Padres' offense didn't respond as well against Brian Moehler (5-4). The right-hander allowed only one run in six innings, though he gave up four hits, walked four and hit a batter.

The Padres jumped ahead 1-0 in the second inning when catcher Eliezer Alfonzo, who later doubled, hit a solo home run into the sand in right-center field. But that was all they could muster.

Padres pitcher Walter Silva (0-2) started equally well, retiring the first 10 batters he faced. But consecutive singles by Miguel Tejada, Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee and Geoff Blum helped Houston take a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning.

After Darrin Erstad drew a two-out walk and Kaz Matsui singled in another run, Moehler hit a slow chopper to Headley at third base. Headley threw the ball past Gonzalez at first, allowing three runs to score.

Silva exited after four innings, but Black said he liked the way the rookie bounced back after allowing nine runs against Texas last Friday. Silva said the difference was his command.

"It was a little better for the first couple of innings," Silva said. "I was in command of my pitches and in control, but one inning changed everything."