ASTROS WALK IT OFF

Yainer Diaz homers in ninth inning to lift Astros to 5-4 win over Red Sox

Yainer Diaz homers in ninth inning to lift Astros to 5-4 win over Red Sox
Astros defeat the Red Sox, 5-4. Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images.

Yainer Diaz’s tiebreaking solo homer with one out in the ninth inning lifted the Houston Astros to a 5-4 win over the Boston Red Sox on Monday night.

The Astros tied it on an RBI single by Mauricio Dubón in the eighth inning. Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen (3-2) struck out Yordan Alvarez on three pitches in the ninth before Diaz, who also homered Sunday, sent the next pitch deep to left-center field to give Houston its 11th victory in 12 games.

Josh Hader (6-6) pitched a scoreless ninth for the win.

The Astros won despite committing a season-high four errors on an uncharacteristically sloppy defensive night.

Jarren Duran hit a leadoff home run and Masataka Yoshida’s two-run homer in the sixth put the Red Sox up 4-2.

Red Sox starter Tanner Houck allowed eight hits and three runs — two earned — with eight strikeouts in six innings.

Houston starter Yusei Kikuchi gave up six hits and three runs — one earned — in 5 2/3 innings in his fourth start since a July 29th trade from Toronto.

The score was tied at 2-all when Romy Gonzalez reached to start the sixth on a throwing error by Jose Altuve. He was still on first with two outs when Kikuchi was lifted for Tayler Scott. Yoshida connected on his third pitch, smacking it off the railing on the wall in left field to give the Red Sox the 4-2 lead.

Jeremy Peña singled with no outs in the sixth and moved to third on a single by Victor Caratini. The Astros cut the lead to 4-3 when Peña scored on a sacrifice fly by pinch-hitter Jon Singleton with one out.

Duran sent Kikuchi’s first pitch into the Crawford Boxes in left field to put the Red Sox up early. Rob Refsnyder and Rafael Devers hit back-to-back singles with one out in the first.

Gonzalez then reached on a fielder’s choice and Refsnyder was tagged out at home. The Red Sox made it 2-0 when Danny Jansen reached and Devers scored on an error by rookie third baseman Shay Whitcomb.

Alvarez doubled with no outs in the fourth before a single by Diaz. Alvarez was first called safe when he slid home on a ball hit by Peña. But the Red Sox challenged the call and it was overturned.

Caratini then singled on a grounder to right field to score Diaz and Peña and tie it at 2-all.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros: RHP Justin Verlander will come off the injured list to start Wednesday’s finale. The 41-year-old ace hasn’t pitched since June 9 because of stiffness in his neck. He made two minor league rehabilitation starts, last throwing four innings for Double-A Corpus Christi on Thursday.

UP NEXT

Red Sox RHP Nick Pivetta (5-8, 4.49 ERA) opposes Astros RHP Ronel Blanco (9-6, 2.89) when the series continues Tuesday night.

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Quinn Ewers is headed to the NFL. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

Texas junior quarterback Quinn Ewers declared for the NFL draft on Wednesday, ending a Longhorns career in which he led the program to a Big 12 championship and twice to the College Football Playoff but was not always embraced by a fan base eagerly waiting for Arch Manning to take over.

Ewers passed for 9,128 yards and 68 touchdowns in a career that few Texas quarterbacks can match. He had hinted before the season ended that it would be his last in college.

“These past three years have been some of the best years I could have imagined,” Ewers said in social media post announcing his decision. “The relationships I've built between coaches and teammates will last forever.”

His 27 career wins rank fourth as a starting quarterback at Texas, and he led the Longhorns to their first Big 12 title in 14 years in 2023 before the program moved to the Southeastern Conference. In their first season in the SEC, the Longhorns rose to their first No. 1 ranking since 2008 and played in the league championship game.

Ewers' biggest legacy will be leading the program to the playoff semifinals in consecutive years, though it fell short of the championship game. He had a fumble on a sack that led to a game-clinching touchdown for Ohio State on Jan. 10 in the Cotton Bowl.

Ewers' career

Ewers, who grew up in the Dallas suburbs, was the top-rated high school quarterback in the country when he signed with Ohio State and left school early to the join the Buckeyes for the 2021 season. But after one season spent deep on the Ohio State depth chart, Ewers transferred to Texas, which had just finished 5-7 in coach Steve Sarkisian's first season.

He was the starter by the season opener in 2022 and led the team through seasons of 8-5, 12-2 and 13-3 records. But he was dogged by various shoulder, abdomen and ankle injuries and missed at least two games each season. An abdomen strain this season allowed Manning to start twice and earn the program's first SEC win, which came against Mississippi State.

Make way for Manning

Ewers' departure sets the stage for Manning to take over in 2025.

The son of Cooper Manning, the grandson of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning and the nephew of Super Bowl-winning QBs Peyton and Eli Manning passed for 939 yards and nine touchdowns and ran for four TDs this season but has seen only limited playing time since September.

Texas fans have been eagerly awaiting his chance to be the full-time starter. Manning will get it with a rebuilt offense.

Top receivers Matthew Golden and Isaiah Bond have declared for the draft and senior tight end Gunnar Helm completed his eligibility. Running back Jaydon Blue, who scored a team-high 14 touchdowns including four in the playoffs, and starting tackles Kelvin Banks Jr. and Cam Williams also left for the NFL.

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