Astros Blow Late Lead, Fall to Diamondbacks 4-3/10
· Yahoo Sports
Saturday Night Bummer. A rare blown late inning lead by Houston. Diamondbacks 4 Astros 3.
The night began with promise, thanks to a forged early lead which has been the formula for success of late. Taylor Trammell began things with a double, advancing to third on Yanier Diaz’s single. Yordan Alvarez earned an intentional walk, loading up the bases. That’s when Isaac Paredes came through in the clutch. With two strikes, Paredes went opposite field, driving in a pair. It was 2-0 after three innings.
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Arizona would get one of those runs back in the fifth. Tim Tawa and Lars Nootbaar reached on singles. Geraldo Perdomo brought in Tawa on a sacrifice fly.
Paredes did further damage in the 5th with runners on and two outs. For his second act, he’d bring in Jeremy Pena after a single to center. Paredes now has 79 RBI on the season. It appeared that Houston was poised for their fourth straight win, but it wasn’t meant to be.
Ethan Pecko went 4.1 innings, allowing 5 hits and a walk while striking out a pair. Joe Espada then turned over things to the bullpen. Enyel De Los Santos initially came on in relief, authoring a scoreless outing, striking out two.
However, in the 7th, things began to tighten. Kai-Wei Teng came in to start the frame and after a promising strike out of Max Kepler, Teng appeared to be in a groove. He then surrendered walks to Tawa & Waldschmidt, ending his night prematurely. Enter AJ Blubaugh. Lars Nootbaar rudely greeted AJ with an RBI double which scored Tawa. Blubaugh limited the damage, getting Perdomo and Moreno out. Arizona stranded a pair.
In the 8th, Blubaugh would go back out there. Once again, Arizona got on the board. A solo homerun from Ketel Marte tied things 3-3. It was Marte’s 22nd homerun.
Josh Hader pitched for the third time in four days, retiring the side in order for the 9th. Unfortunately, Bryan King wouldn’t be as lucky in the 10th. Gabriel Moreno singled home lldemaro Vargas and that would be your ballgame. For just the 10th time all season, Houston’s bullpen would blow a lead.
Odds & Ends:
The homestand will conclude with Peter Lambert taking the hill Sunday for the rubber match. Lambert is seeking his elusive 9th win of the season.
Cam Smith’s first hit on the Saturday night was a triple. Cam now leads the club with 6.
Jose Altuve’s double in the 8th was his 2,496th career hit. He’s now 4 shy of 2,500.