Wild Night: Houston Astros Walk-Off Texas Rangers in Extra Innings to Secure Series Win
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The 10th inning didn't go the Texas Rangers' way. Houston Astros center fielder Mauricio Dubón kicked off the inning with a sacrifice bunt to move Christian Vázquez to third base, but in attempt to score on an infield knock, Vázquez was thrown out at home.
With two on and two outs, the Rangers elected to not face Yordan Álvarez, intentionally walking a second runner in the inning. Alex Bregman stepped into the box with the bases loaded and saw one pitch.
A Jonathan Hernandez slider spiked into the dirt, giving way to an easy run for José Altuve who scored from the third base. With only four hits on the night, Houston was able to run away with a 4-3 victory in an extra inning of play.
Houston Astros Starting Pitcher Cristian Javier
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Houston's offense sought production in the fourth and sixth innings. Yuli Gurriel singled home Kyle Tucker to cut the deficit to two runs before Tucker launched a two-run, game-tying home run two innings later.
Cristian Javier took the rubber for the Astros on Wednesday, allowing one earned run over 5.1 innings pitched. Texas struck first in the opening frame on a Nathaniel Lowe solo home run. And two more runs crossed in the third inning, but both were recorded unearned due to a throwing error by Jeremy Peña.
Javier allowed just four hits and issued two walks while striking out eight batters. Behind the right-hander, Seth Martinez, Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Héctor Neris combined for 4.2 scoreless innings with three total strikeouts.
Abreu entered with no outs and two runners on in the seventh inning. Strengthening his case to be in the postseason bullpen, the righty induced two groundouts to escape the threat. Carrying into the eighth, Abreu punched out two batters, lowering his ERA to 1.88.
The Astros are off Thursday and return to the field at 7:10 p.m. Friday against the Los Angeles Angels at Minute Maid Park. Lance McCullers Jr. is scheduled to face right-hander Michael Lorenzen.
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