HOUSTON — If Astros manager Dusty Baker had handed out a game ball Wednesday night at Minute Maid Park, he’d need to get them a case.
The Astros had enough heroes to fill a comic book, erasing a 6-1 deficit by scoring two goals in the eighth and four times in the ninth to sweep the Cubs and win their fourth straight game.
“I always say, if you can win the thirty-eighth and ninth, you have a chance of winning the ball game,” Baker said. “Boy, we had some champs on champs tonight. The guys came through. It was a great win. It was the win of the year. That’s great, especially before the rest day too. The thing I appreciate is not a lot of fans left.”
Nobody could blame them for leaving on the eighth. When the Cubs retired in the eighth, they had a 98 percent chance of winning. An RBI hit by Alex Bregman (3-for-4 with a homer) and Jose Abreu cut the lead to 6-3 heading into the ninth. However, the Astros were 0-17 this season when trailing after eight innings.
“I think it just shows the character of these guys to never stop and keep fighting,” Bregman said. “Obviously, we fell into a big hole early on, but our team came in and did a really good job of leaving it there. The offense kept fighting all day.”
A homer by Keegan Thompson in the ninth cut Myers’ lead to 6-5 and gave the Astros hope as they emerged at the top of the lineup. DuPont’s gait, Pena’s double, and intentional walk to Bregman—the Cubs wanted Brandon Hughes to counter left-handed batters Yordan Alvarez and Tucker, while setting up a drive on all bases—loaded the bases with no outs.
“Sometimes, in the ninth inning, when you’re down to three, homing pigeons can be swarm killers,” Bregman said. Dupont comes off the bench and hits really well and walks 3-2, Peña is probably the biggest hitter in the ninth inning with this double. [and Dubón] Going from the first to the third. I think it was a good win for the all-around team.”
“All you can ask for is chance and chance,” Baker said. “We had the big boys come out in the middle of the order and they came.”
Álvarez hit the pick of the player who snapped the runner at the plate, but Tucker lined up at center to score Peña and Bregman to win the game, giving Houston its first win of the season. The Cubs challenged the call at the plate, but replays showed Bregman safe.
“It’s really cool to have so many good ABs out there in the ninth against some really good pitchers,” said Tucker, who hit his third career hit. “It’s kind of a bright spot coming back against a really good team.”
Things looked bleak for the Astros after rookie JB France, hitting his first home run, rocked him for six runs and nine strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings pitched, giving up two homers to Seiya Suzuki and one to Christopher Morell.
France said, “We’ll have to watch the video to see if I’m into tipping or something.” “I can talk about all I want. At the end of the day we pulled one out and we cleared it up. It was a good game.”
The Astros did not have a hit with a runner in scoring position until the eighth inning, but they were 7-for-11 with two walks in 13 plate appearances in the eighth and ninth innings.
Houston scored 81 points in the seventh inning or later in the season, which leads the AL.
“In the last half, I got a good dugout [seat] Myers said: “Peña, a massive hit right there. Huge double. What a swing from Tuck. That was fun to watch.”
Houston scored 81 points in the seventh inning or later in the season, which leads the AL.
“In the last half, I got a good dugout [seat] Myers said: “Peña, a massive hit right there. Huge double. What a swing from Tuck. That was fun to watch.”
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