B2B homers, wild catch help Astros take finale vs. O's
BALTIMORE -- Alex Bregman and Yainer Diaz clubbed home runs to left field on consecutive pitches with two outs in the seventh inning to send the Astros to a 6-3 win over the Orioles on Sunday night and a split of the four-game series at Camden Yards.
Bregman snapped a 3-3 tie when he sailed a curveball from reliever Burch Smith a Statcast-projected 397 feet over the left-field wall for his 21st homer of the season. He had barely gotten to the dugout when Diaz crushed a sweeper and launched it 455 feet to left for his 16th homer. The ball came off the bat at 111.4 mph, which is tied for the hardest-hit ball of Diaz’s career.
The Astros reached 70 wins (70-60) and maintained a 4 1/2-game lead over the second-place Mariners in the American League West race ahead of a three-game series at the Phillies that begins Monday.
The back-to-back homers made a winner out of Héctor Neris, a key member of Houston’s bullpen the previous two seasons who re-signed with the club a few days ago. He made his first appearance for the Astros since returning and retired all four batters he faced to pick up the win.
Ramón Urias, who hit a three-run homer off Astros starter Yusei Kikuchi to tie the game in the fifth inning, was Neris’ final out in the seventh. He hit a fly ball to deep left field that Mauricio Dubón caught after running 130 feet just before he crashed full-speed into the padded wall.
Dubón was shaken up and on the ground for several minutes before walking off the field under his own power. He was removed from the game in the eighth inning for pinch-hitter Jake Meyers, who lifted a sac fly to right field to make it 6-3.