Houston Astros at Baltimore Orioles

· Major League Baseball

Houston Astros

69-60, 34-31 Away

Final
2 - 3

Baltimore Orioles

76-55, 39-29 Home

Jackson Holliday's bases-loaded double lifts the Orioles to a 3-2 victory over Houston

Colton Cowser kept the decisive rally going by hustling to first for an infield single, and after Tayler Scott relieved Framber Valdez (13-6), Holliday came up as a pinch hitter and snapped a 0-for-20 slide by lining the first pitch to the gap in right-center field.

“Obviously Cowser getting to first right there, sliding in, is what got to that moment,” Holliday said. “It's important games. They're a good team. ... Three RBI in that big of a spot, it's pretty awesome."

Jose Altuve and Jeremy Peña homered for Houston, but as good as Valdez was for most of his outing, the Astros gave up a lead for the second straight day.

The Orioles won 7-5 Friday night thanks to a five-run eighth inning highlighted by Anthony Santander's grand slam.

Keegan Akin (3-0) won in relief in his first appearance since returning from the paternity list. Yannier Cano followed Akin with 1 1/3 scoreless innings, and Seranthony Domínguez pitched a perfect ninth for his fifth save since joining the Orioles late last month.

Valdez allowed three runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out eight with a walk but lost for the first time since June 18. The left-hander was 8-0 in his previous 10 starts.

Baltimore pulled within a half-game of the AL East-leading New York Yankees, who lost at home to Colorado. The Astros remained 4 1/2 games ahead of Seattle atop the AL West.

Houston led 2-0 in the sixth when Valdez allowed singles to Gunnar Henderson and Eloy Jiménez. With two outs, Cowser hit what looked like a routine soft bouncer to first, but he raced down the line and beat first baseman Jon Singleton to the bag with a headfirst slide. That set up the big hit by the rookie Holliday.

“What a huge hit for us,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Great swing, totally under control.”

Altuve led off the game with his 18th homer of the year. Peña added another in the sixth, his right knee nearly scraping the ground as he reached to hit a curveball from Albert Suárez.

Suárez allowed two runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings, snapping his streak of three straight scoreless starts.

Yusei Kikuchi (6-9) starts Sunday in the series finale for the Astros. Dean Kremer (6-9) starts for Baltimore.

How can I watch Houston Astros vs. Baltimore Orioles?

TV Channel: Astros at Orioles 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on ERADM.
Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Orioles: 52.9%

Astros: 47.1%

*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

	9th Inning	Meyers grounded out to second.
	9th Inning	Caratini flied out to center.
	9th Inning	Singleton struck out swinging.
	9th Inning	Domínguez relieved Cano
	8th Inning	Cowser lined out to shortstop.
	8th Inning	Jiménez grounded out to second.

Statistics

HOU		BAL
1	Games Played	1
1	Team Games Played	1
0	Hit By Pitch	0
10	Ground Balls	11
8	Strikeouts	10
2	Runs Batted In	3
0	Sacrifice Hit	0
6	Hits	7
0	Stolen Bases	0
2	Walks	2
0	Catcher Interference	0
2	Runs	3
1	Ground Into Double Play	1
0	Sacrifice Flies	0
32	At Bats	31
2	Home Runs	0
0	Grand Slam Home Runs	0
9	Runners Left On Base	10
0	Triples	0
0	Game Winning RBIs	1
0	Intentional Walks	0
1	Doubles	2
14	Fly Balls	10
0	Caught Stealing	0
132	Pitches	140
0	Games Started	0
0	Pinch At Bats	1
0	Pinch Hits	1
0.0	Player Rating	0.0
1	Is Qualified	1
0	Is Qualified In Steals	0
13	Total Bases	9
34	Plate Appearances	33
324.0	Projected Home Runs	0.0
3	Extra Base Hits	2
2.8	Runs Created	2.1
.188	Batting Average	.226
.000	Pinch Hit Average	1.000
.406	Slugging Percentage	.290
.281	Secondary Average	.129
.235	On Base Percentage	.273
.642	OBP Pct + SLG Pct	.563
0.7	Ground To Fly Ball Ratio	1.1
2.8	Runs Created Per 27 Outs	2.2
22.0	Batter Rating	23.0
16.0	At Bats Per Home Run	0.0
0.00	Stolen Base Percentage	0.00
3.88	Pitches Per Plate Appearance	4.24
.219	Isolated Power	.065
0.25	Walk To Strikeout Ratio	0.20
.059	Walks Per Plate Appearance	.061
.094	Secondary Average Minus Batting Average	-.097
4.0	Runs Produced	6.0
1.0	Runs Ratio	1.0
0.5	Patience Ratio	0.3
0.2	Balls In Play Average	0.3
74.0	MLB Rating	73.0
0.0	Offensive Wins Above Replacement	0.0
0.0	Wins Above Replacement	0.0