Astros rally in the ninth for their most dramatic win of the season
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If the Houston Astros make the playoffs this season, Sunday’s game is going to be looked at as one of their signature victories. The Astros rallied in the ninth inning, beating the Los Angeles Angels 5-3.
Houston entered the ninth down by three, and had to attempt a comeback against Huston Street. That was not an easy task.
At first, it looked like Street would come away victorious. He quickly notched two outs against the first two batters he faced. After that, disaster set it.
Street was able to work a 1-2 count on Preston Tucker, but the outfielder took him deep on the fourth pitch of the at-bat. George Springer followed that up with a triple, and was driven in by Jose Altuve.
With the Astros now down 3-2, Carlos Correa singled to put two men on base. Jed Lowrie was called upon to pinch-hit, and delivered the biggest moment in the Astros season.
On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, Lowrie belted a three-run homer to right, giving the Astros the 5-3 lead. Street was pulled at that point, but the damage had been done. The Astros held on in the bottom of the frame, stealing a victory after an incredible comeback.
With the win, Houston improved to 77-66. The team has a 1.5 game lead in the American League West.
CUETO STRUGGLES AGAIN
If the Kansas City Royals want to make another deep playoff run, they are going to have to figure out what’s wrong with their ace. Johnny Cueto got knocked around again during the team’s 8-2 loss over the Baltimore Orioles.
Over his last five starts, Cueto has allowed 28 runs in just 26 1/3 innings. Coming into the contest, pitching coach Dave Eiland thought he had figured out what was going on with Cueto.
That could still be the case despite the struggles, and that’s certainly something Cueto can fix moving forward. As long as there is no injury here, all it takes is one start, or small adjustment, to get Cueto back on track.
With the loss, Kansas City dropped to 84-58 on the season. They hold a 10.5 game lead in the American League Central.
METS RALLY … AGAIN
The baseball gods have opted to give their favor to the New York Mets this season. New York proved that once again during the team’s 10-7 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.
The Mets had to pull off an amazing ninth inning comeback in order to win the game. With the club down by three heading into the frame, the magic kicked in.
With two outs, the Mets began their rally. Juan Lagares doubled, and that was followed up by a Curtis Granderson walk. Daniel Murphy then stepped to the plate representing the tying run.
He would deliver. Murphy clubbed a three-run homer to right center, tying the game. The Mets couldn’t push another run across, and the game wound up going to extras.
It didn’t take long for New York to strike again, though. The Mets would rally again in the 10th. Not surprisingly, this rally also came with two outs.
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By the time the inning was over, the Mets now held a 10-7 lead. The team would keep Atlanta off the board in the bottom of the frame. Picking up the victory.
With the win, the club improved to 82-61. They hold a 9.5 game lead over the Washington Nationals in the National League East.
TWINS TAG CHRIS SALE … AGAIN
The Minnesota Twins love facing Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale. It seems strange to say that, but the Twins seem to have his number this season. They proved that again during a 7-0 win Sunday.
Against most opponents this year, Sale has looked like a potential Cy Young candidate. Against the Twins, well …
Sunday was no different. Sale lasted just three innings, giving up six runs on nine hits. Sale has had eight starts this season in which he’s given up four earned runs. Four of those starts have come against the Twins.
With the win, Minnesota improved to 74-68. They are just one game back of the second wild card spot in the AL.
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
