Dubón comes through in extras to lead Astros to 8th straight W
ST. PETERSBURG -- Mauricio Dubón snapped an 0-for-14 drought with an RBI single in the 10th inning to score Pedro León with the go-ahead run as the Astros needed only two hits to beat the Rays, 2-1, on Wednesday night, extending their winning streak to a season-high eight games.
After losing to the Rangers in extra innings in Arlington on Aug. 5 to begin their current nine-game road trip, the Astros ripped off two wins at Texas before sweeping the Red Sox at Fenway Park and the Rays at Tropicana Field.
The 8-1 road trip is the Astros’ best since going 8-1 in April 2015 on a trip to Seattle, Oakland and San Diego.
Astros starter Ronel Blanco needed only 73 pitches to complete six scoreless innings, but didn’t return after a 106.5 mph comebacker off the bat of Brandon Lowe appeared to glance off his throwing hand. A team spokesman later said Blanco was not removed from the game for an injury reason.
Jeremy Peña’s fifth-inning homer was Houston’s only hit until the 10th.
Astros reliever Tayler Scott got two big outs to end the seventh and strand runners at second and third base to keep the Rays off the board. But Tampa Bay pushed the tying run across in the eighth when Taylor Walls slid home ahead of Jose Altuve’s throw following a grounder on a close play. The Astros challenged catcher Yainer Diaz got the tag down on Walls in time, but the call was upheld.