Yordan Alvarez capped a three-hit, six-RBI night with a walkoff two-run home run as the Houston Astros rallied from a five-run deficit to outslug the visiting Tampa Bay Rays 10-8 on Saturday.
Alvarez plated Jose Altuve with his 29th home run of the season and second of the game with no outs in the ninth inning. He smacked a 1-2 fastball from Rays reliever Casey Legumina (2-2) 424 feet to straightaway center field to snap the Rays’ nine-game winning streak.
The Astros pulled even at 8-8 with a three-run seventh inning that featured an Alvarez sacrifice fly, an Isaac Paredes RBI single and a pinch-hit RBI single from Zach Dezenzo.
Altuve scored three runs.
Neither Hunter Brown nor Drew Rasmussen pitched effectively for their respective teams.
Brown, making just his fourth start for the Astros following a two-plus-month stint on the injured list with a right shoulder strain, labored with his control throughout. Junior Caminero spotted the Rays a 1-0 lead in the first with his 26th home run – and 11th in his last 11 games – by driving a full-count slider 437 feet to left-center. Brown escaped further damage by getting Ryan Vilade to ground into an inning-ending double play.
After Houston jumped ahead 2-1 on Alvarez’s first homer, the Rays regained their lead in the second inning. Two batters after Victor Mesa Jr. worked a leadoff walk, Richie Palacios crushed his second home run of the season 409 feet to right-center for a 3-2 lead.
The Rays extended their advantage with three runs in the second and one run in the fourth.
Brown allowed seven runs on six hits and four walks with three strikeouts over four innings. He threw 82 pitches, only 45 for strikes.
Rasmussen, the American League Pitcher of the Month for June, surrendered a two-run homer to Alvarez in the bottom of the first and a two-run opposite-field shot to Yainer Diaz in the fourth that pulled the Astros to within 7-4. Alvarez plated Allen with a run-scoring single in the fifth to cut the deficit to 7-5.
Tampa Bay extended its lead once more to 8-5 on Jonny DeLuca’s fifth homer of the season in the seventh, a solo shot.
Rasmussen allowed a season-high-tying five runs on six hits and one walk with two strikeouts over five innings.
