ASTROS DEFEAT ANGELS
Kyle Tucker homers twice, Astros win in extras against Angels
May 22, 2024, 9:21 am
Astros defeat Angels, 6-5. Composite Getty Image.
Kyle Tucker homered twice to give him an MLB-leading 17 and Jeremy Peña’s RBI single with one out in the 10th inning lifted the Houston Astros to a 6-5 win over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night.
The Angels intentionally walked Yordan Alvarez with no outs in the 10th and Kyle Tucker on second as the automatic runner. Both players advanced on a fly out by Alex Bregman before Peña singled off Carlos Estévez (0-3) on a line drive to right field to give Houston the victory.
“Great teams have to be able to win coming from behind,” Peña said. “Hard-fought game from both sides and we've got to keep playing good baseball.”
Los Angeles manager Ron Washington was asked about the performance of Estévez.
“I thought he was throwing the ball well,” he said. “You’ve got to give Pena credit. Their first five hitters are dangerous — very dangerous. We put ourselves in a good position to win it, but in the end they got it.”
Tucker homered in the first and his second solo shot tied it in the seventh. Alvarez added a solo home run and Jon Singleton hit a two-run homer for the Astros.
Josh Hader (3-3) pitched two scoreless innings, striking out the side in the 10th for the win.
Luis Rengifo and Kevin Pillar both homered for the Angels and Nolan Schanuel tied a career high with three hits.
The game was tied with two outs in the seventh when Pillar sent a fastball from Bryan Abreu into the first row of the seats in left field to put the Angels up 5-4.
Tucker tied it with one out in the bottom of the inning on his shot to right field. Tucker tied a franchise record for most homers through Houston’s first 49 games.
“Every time he comes to the plate, you're just expecting him to do something awesome and he is doing stuff that only a few players can do,” manager Joe Espada said. “He’s definitely one of the best players in this league and he’s really picking us up right now.”
Fans were chanting “M-V-P, M-V-P” when Tucker came to the plate late in Tuesday's game.
“I just try and put together good at-bats and be pretty selective up there and just kind of take my walks and try and do damage when they throw it across the plate,” he said.
Schanuel hit a leadoff single before Rengifo’s shot to right-center put Los Angeles up early.
There was one out in the bottom of the inning when Tucker connected off Griffin Canning to cut the lead to 2-1. The Astros tied it when Alvarez sent the next pitch into the seats in right field for his first homer since May 9.
Luis Guillorme singled with one out in the fourth before scoring when Zach Neto doubled off the wall in left field to put the Angels up 3-2. There were two outs in the inning when Rengifo singled on a liner to center field to send Neto home.
Peña doubled down the left field line with one out in the sixth before Singleton smacked his fifth homer of the season to straightaway center field to tie at 4-all.
Houston starter Cristian Javier yielded a season-high eight hits with four runs in four innings in his third start since missing 18 games with neck discomfort.
Canning allowed five hits and two runs in five innings for the Angels.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: Chas McCormick was activated from the injured list Tuesday after sitting out since April 27 with right hamstring discomfort. INF Trey Cabbage was optioned to Triple-A Sugar Land to make room for him on the roster. … RHP José Urquidy, who hasn’t pitched all season because of a strained right forearm, will make his third rehabilitation start for Sugar Land on Friday.
UP NEXT
Houston RHP Hunter Brown (1-4, 7.71 ERA) opposes LHP Tyler Anderson (4-4, 2.72) in the series finale Wednesday.
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Nick Kurtz became the first major league rookie to hit four homers in a game, leading the Athletics to a 15-3 victory over the Houston Astros on Friday night.
Kurtz went 6-for-6 with eight RBIs and six runs scored. He’s just the second player in Major League Baseball history to have four homers in a six-hit game, joining Shawn Green of the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 23, 2002 at Milwaukee, and he matched Green’s MLB record with 19 total bases.
It was the first six-hit game for the Athletics since Joe DeMaestri on July 8, 1955 at Detroit.
The 22-year-old also had a single and a double that hit just below the yellow line over the visitor’s bullpen in the fourth inning.
Kurtz singled in the first and his two-run homer in the second put the Athletics ahead 5-0. His solo shot in the sixth made it 10-2. His third homer was his longest, a 414-foot drive into the second deck in the eighth.
Kurtz’s final homer came against outfielder Cooper Hummel, a three-run, opposite-field line drive to the Crawford boxes in left field that made it 15-2.
Kurtz extended his hitting streak to 12 games and his 23 home runs are the most for an A’s rookie since Yoenis Céspedes in 2012 and fourth most in franchise history.
Tyler Soderstrom and Shea Langeliers also homered for the A’s, who had a season high in runs.
Jeffrey Springs (9-7) allowed two runs over six innings. Zack Short hit a two-run homer for Houston in the fifth.
Ryan Gusto (6-4) allowed eight runs on eight hits over 3 1/3 innings.
Key moment
Hummel had allowed one run and retired two batters in the ninth when Kurtz hit a 77 mph, 2-0 pitch for his fourth homer.
Key stat
Kurtz is batting .553 (26 for 47) with nine homers and 20 RBIs during his 12-game hitting streak.
Up next
Houston RHP Hunter Brown (9-4 2.57 ERA) opposes LHP Jacob Lopez (3-6 4.60 ERA) when the series continues Saturday.