Flair for the dramatic: Astros pick up another walk-off win
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The Houston Astros continue to win, and are doing so in the most dramatic fashion. The club picked up another walk-off victory during Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In order to pick up that walk-off, the team had to mount a comeback against Kenley Jansen. With the club trailing by one run in the bottom of the ninth, they did just that.
Carlos Correa led off the frame with a single, starting the rally. Jansen was able to get the next two outs, but Correa managed to steal second with Evan Gattis at the plate. It all came down to Marwin Gonzalez.
With two outs, Gonzalez singled to right, scoring Correa and sending the game into extras.
That’s when Jason Castro struck. With Chris Hatcher on the mound, Castro belted a 96 mph fastball out to left for the walk-off blast. The play was reviewed, but eventually upheld, giving Houston the win.
The team continued to show a flair for dramatic, as they’ve now picked up a walk-off victory in four of their last eight games.
With the win, Houston improved to 69-56 on the season. They lead the American League West by 4.0 games over the Texas Rangers.
BLUE JAYS CONTINUE TO PUNISH PITCHERS
The Astros can breath a little easier due to the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays completed a sweep over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday, picking up the 12-5 victory in the finale.
The Angels couldn’t quiet the Jays’ bats throughout the entire series. Toronto scored a franchise record 36 runs in a three-game series. They also set a franchise record for most hits in a three-game series, picking up 48 knocks over the weekend.
The win was even more impressive considering the Blue Jays fell behind 5-1 after the first inning. They were able to claw their way back into the contest, scoring 11 unanswered runs.
Pitcher Marcus Stroman didn’t seem all that concerned about the early deficit, and he was right.
Toronto has now scored 10 runs or more in 19 games this season. That figured ties a club record set in 2003.
With the win, Toronto moved into first place in the American League East. They are now 69-55 on the year.
ROYALS ERUPT IN THE NINTH
Things were looking grim for the Kansas City Royals in the ninth inning, but they managed to come through. The team picked up an 8-6 win over the Boston Red Sox after a late charge Sunday.
The magic started with the Royals trailing by two runs in the ninth inning. Junichi Tazawa came on to pick up the save, and found himself in a weird situation almost immediately.
Omar Infante tripled to lead things off, but was thrown out while trying to advance home. The out didn’t seem to settle Tazawa down at all, though. He gave up singles to three of the next four batters he faced.
With the bases loaded, Eric Hosmer tied things up with a two-run single to left. Kendrys Morales would walk to load the bases again, and Mike Moustakas would deliver the knock out punch. Moustakas doubled in two runs, giving the team the 8-6 lead.
Wade Davis would come on to close things out, and managed to shut the door. With the win, Kansas City improved to 75-48 on the season.
PIRATES CONTINUE CHARGE IN THE CENTRAL
The Pittsburgh Pirates continued their late season charge Sunday against the San Francisco Giants. The Pirates picked up a 5-2 win against the defending champs.
The usual suspects struck for Pittsburgh. Jung-Ho Kang continued his hot season, taking a walk to pick up the first run of the game. Neil Walker plated a run with a single, and Pedro Alvarez hit a sac fly. By the time the first inning ended, Pittsburgh had a 3-0 lead.
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The Giants would claw back into the contest, making it a one-run game, but that changed in the bottom of the sixth. Andrew McCutchen added his 19th home run of the year, putting the Pirates ahead by two.
They would not relinquish that lead, and even managed to add an insurance run in the seventh. With the win, the Pirates improved to 74-48 on the year.
Want to see more from Sunday’s slate of games? Check out our scoreboard.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
