Myles Straw scored on a wild pitch with two outs in the 11th inning as the Houston Astros claimed a 4-3, walk-off victory over the visiting Texas Rangers on Thursday.
With the bases loaded and Chas McCormick facing a 1-2 count, Texas left-hander Brett Martin (0-1) uncorked a curveball that handcuffed catcher Jonah Helm and allowed Straw to score from third base.
The 10th inning featured two double plays. Astros third baseman Alex Bregman started a 5-4-3 twin killing that helped keep the Rangers off the board in the top of the frame. The Rangers got an inning-ending double play in the bottom half that featured right fielder Joey Gallo erasing pinch runner McCormick with a strong throw to home plate.
Houston squandered multiple scoring opportunities against Rangers right-hander Mike Foltynewicz, a former Astro.
Houston managed just three runs in five innings off Foltynewicz, all of them coming on a bases-clearing double by Jose Altuve with one out in the second inning. Altuve’s hard chopper eluded Rangers third baseman Charlie Culberson and rolled all the way to the left field corner.
Foltynewicz gave up eight hits and three walks while striking out three.
The Astros had the leadoff batter reach in all five innings off Foltynewicz but were 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position during those frames.
Astros right-hander Cristian Javier overcame a ragged start that began with his very first pitch.
Willie Calhoun turned on a four-seam fastball and drilled it into the right field seats, providing Texas a 1-0 lead.
The Rangers doubled the lead on a second-inning sacrifice fly by Jose Trevino.
When Javier returned to the mound in the third with a one-run lead, he allowed a leadoff single to Nick Solak, uncorked a wild pitch that advanced Solak into scoring position, and later surrendered a run-scoring groundout to Gallo that enabled the Rangers to pull even.
In retiring the final three batters of the third, Javier initiated a stretch in which he recorded 13 consecutive outs. He wound up allowing three runs on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts over seven innings.
Left-hander Brooks Raley (1-2) pitched a scoreless 11th inning for the win.
–Field Level Media