Astros Comeback Falls Short. Pirates Walk-Off a 7-4 Win

For those of us who thought that last night’s shellacking of the Pirates meant that the Astros had escaped their slump, tonight’s game was a disappointment. Although the Astros got off to a hot start, in the end the bats again went dormant, and the Pirates were able to come back to a 7-4 victory culminating in a walk-off homer in the ninth.

The big bats showed up early for the Astros in tonight’s game, including one we haven’t seen much too much so far this year. Batting second, Alex Bregman hit a solo shot to left field to give the Astros an early 1-0 lead.

And in the second inning Kyle Tucker doubled the lead with a solo homer of his own.

However the good vibes for the Astros ended in the bottom of the second when, with two outs, Astros starter Cristian Javier hit Rodolfo Castro with a pitch and then allowed a home run to Jack Suwinski to tie the score.

The Pirates took the lead in the sixth on a Ji Man Choi homer, his second in two nights. Ke’Bryan Hayes then doubled with one out, stole third and scored on a Canaan Smith-Njaba sac fly.

The Astros tied the score in the ninth. It started with Mauricio Dubon getting on base on an error by shortstop Rodolfo Castro, followed by a single by pinch hitter David Hensley, and a two-run double buy Chas McCormick. Jose Abreu struck out to end the inning with a runner on second.

However, in the bottom of the ninth Astros closer Ryan Pressly surrendered a three-run homer to Ji Hwan Bae to provide the Pirates with their final margin of victory, 7-4

The Astros managed nine hits, and Yordan Alvarez was 0-4 with three strikeouts.

Cristian Javier lasted six innings, allowing four runs on five hits, a walk, but only three strikeouts.

Tomorrow’s game is at 11:30 AM CT.

Box score HERE.