It must have been a sweet time on Friday night for the Houston Astros, whose anemic offense hit another gear in Boston. Jose Altuve and Yanier Diaz smashed home runs, pacing a 16-hit Astros offensive attack en route to an 8-4 win over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Altuve sent a Lucas Sims pitch over the Green Monster in the top of the seventh inning, sparking a four-run rally. The Astros entered the seventh inning down 3-1. Altuve’s long ball moved him into sole possession of fourth place on the Houston Astros’ all-time team home run total with 224. He pushed past Astros legend Jimmy Wynn with that dinger.
Houston Astros Light Up Seventh Inning
Jake Meyers opened the seventh with a triple. Mauricio Dubon then struck out swinging, which brought Altuve to the plate. His homer tied the game at 3-3, but the Houston Astros were not done yet. Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez hit singles, putting runners at first and second base. Jon Singleton’s RBI single plated Bregman for a 4-3 Astros lead. With the bases loaded, Jeremy Pena followed with a run-scoring single. That made it 5-3 Houston.
“There’s something about Jose [in a] big moment, where he raises to that level,” Astros manager Joe Espada said, according to MLB.com. “He wants to be at that level. He wants to be the guy in the moment. And that’s how everything starts, you’ve got to believe that you can come through for your team. And you see Jose just getting big swings over and over again.
“Trust me, I don’t get tired of them, and I will never get tired of watching him get big swings,” Espada said. “He’s just a player that is meant for big spots.”
In the ninth inning, Bregman opened up with a triple. Alvarez followed with an RBI double, putting the Astros ahead 6-3. Chas McCormick replaced Alvarez, who did not look good coming out of the batter’s box. Diaz then smashed his homer, giving Houston an 8-3 lead.
Diaz took note of Altuve’s home run, too. “Obviously, he tied the game there, so he just gave us a new fresh breath of air,” Diaz said through interpreter Jenloy Herrera. “Gave us a little bit more hope and we’re able to take advantage of it later. I said it there like, ‘Hey Altuve, hit a home run!’ And bam, he hit it.”
The Boston Red Sox added a run in the bottom of the ninth off reliever Ryan Pressly. But Pressly, who was filling the closer’s role for Josh Hader, shut the door on Boston for a Houston win.
The Astros are now 60-55 for the season, tied atop the American League West Division standings with the Seattle Mariners. Reliever Kaleb Ort picked up his first victory in an Astros uniform. He went 1 1/3 innings, striking out three Red Sox hitters. Astros starter Ronel Blanco only made it through four innings, allowing three runs on four hits while striking out five.
Boston Red Sox Bullpen Implodes
Sims, 1-5, blew his third save opportunity for the Red Sox. In 1/3 inning of work, he gave up four hits, four earned runs, and struck out one.
Because Blanco didn’t make it past four innings, the Astros had to lean on their bullpen for help. It’s been a problem for the team this season at times. Starting pitching has been better in recent weeks, giving an already overtaxed relieving corps some rest. Hader couldn’t be used on Friday night because he was used in all three games against the Texas Rangers.
Altuve’s home run, while putting him among elite company in the Astros’ record books, was a big deal to the team’s veteran leader. He’s been a hitting machine at times, connecting for singles and doubles. Yet the long ball has been elusive at times. Altuve, who always looks to improve on his offensive output, knew he needed to pick up the home run pace.
“I’ve been working on it, been working on trying to drive the ball again,” Altuve said. “I know I’ve been getting on base, but not hitting for power. But homers, I think they are like any other hit in baseball. They come in [bunches] and you don’t get any for two months, and then you hit again. So hopefully that’s one of many to come for me in the second half.”
The Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox continued their three-game series with a Saturday afternoon game at Fenway Park. Spencer Arrighetti starts for the Astros against Boston’s Josh Winckowski.
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