Astros defeat Orioles in home run fest
The teams combined for six home runs. four for the Astros and two for the Orioles.
The Houston Astros (72–58) held off the Baltimore Orioles (59–70) in a 9–8 slugfest, extending their lead atop the AL West in a game that featured six home runs between the two clubs.
Carlos Correa got the fireworks started in the first inning, launching the first pitch he saw over the left-field wall to drive in Jeremy Peña. After José Altuve was retired, Jesús Sánchez added a solo shot of his own. The rally didn’t stop there—Christian Walker singled, and Víctor Caratini followed with a two-run blast to right-center, giving Houston four runs before Baltimore even came to the plate.
The Orioles answered quickly. Gunnar Henderson drove in Jackson Holliday with an RBI grounder to right, and Colton Cowser followed with a line-drive single that scored both Jeremiah Jackson and Henderson. In the second, Ryan Mountcastle tied the game with a two-run single, knotting things at 5–5.
Houston regained the lead in the third when Coby Mayo mishandled a potential double-play ball, allowing a run to score. Moments later, Caratini brought home two more with a soft grounder, putting the Astros back in front. But Baltimore struck again—Jeremiah Jackson hit his first major league homer in the fourth, and Cowser added a solo shot in the fifth, evening the score at 7–7.
The long ball continued to dominate. In the seventh, Walker crushed a 414-foot homer to left, a two-run shot that scored Altuve and gave the Astros a 9–7 advantage. It was Walker’s 19th of the season—and his third straight game with a home run.
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The Orioles made one final push in the eighth when Jeremiah Jackson drove in a run with an RBI single, but they came up short in the ninth. Bryan Abreu closed the door for his third save of the year, striking out Mountcastle before retiring Colton Cowser and Samuel Basallo to seal the Astros’ win.
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