Yordan Alvarez delivered the tying hit in the 10th inning Saturday, but the Astros couldn’t follow with the winning run despite having the bases loaded and no outs.
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Houston Astros starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti delivers to Baltimore Orioles’ Adley Rutschman during the first inning of a baseball game, Saturday, July 18, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Karen Warren/AP Photo/Karen Warren
Houston Astros starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti delivers to Baltimore Orioles’ Adley Rutschman during the first inning of a baseball game, Saturday, July 18, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Karen Warren/AP Photo/Karen Warren
Houston Astros starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti reacts as he worked against Baltimore Orioles’ Jackson Holliday during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, July 18, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Karen Warren/AP Photo/Karen Warren
Houston Astros catcher Yainer Diaz, left, talks with Houston Astros starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti, right, with Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Adley Rutschman bat during the third inning of a baseball game, Saturday, July 18, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Karen Warren/AP Photo/Karen Warren
Houston Astros’ Christian Walker holds his rib area after swinging at a pitch, he was taken back to the clubhouse without finishing his at bat against Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Trevor Rogers during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, July 18, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Karen Warren/AP Photo/Karen Warren
Houston Astros’ Christian Walker is taken back to the clubhouse by a trainer and manager Joe Espada without finishing his at bat against Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Trevor Rogers during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, July 18, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Karen Warren/AP Photo/Karen Warren
Baltimore Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso, left, slides into second base on Dylan Beavers’ single against Houston Astros shortstop Nick Allen, right, during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, July 18, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Karen Warren/AP Photo/Karen Warren
Houston Astros’ Zach Dezenzo, left, slides home to score the tying run on Nick Allen’s sacrifice bunt during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Saturday, July 18, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Karen Warren/AP Photo/Karen Warren
Houston Astros shortstop Nick Allen tags Baltimore Orioles’ Dylan Beavers out at second as Colton Cowser ground into a double play during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, July 18, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Karen Warren/AP Photo/Karen Warren
The chopper cued off Tyler O’Neill’s bat at 54.5 mph to the right side of the Houston Astros infield. Jose Altuve, pulled toward the second-base bag, ran to field it near his normal position. Gunnar Henderson, breaking from second, never stopped running as he did.
Altuve chopped his feet, corralled the ball and threw to first. O’Neill beat his throw by a step. First baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. looked to the plate but had no play. Henderson sprinted across with the go-ahead run in what became a ghastly 11-inning loss for Houston.
The Astros had the bases loaded with no outs in a tied game in the 10th. Their pitchers allowed five hits and recorded 15 strikeouts. They still fell 4-2 to the Orioles on Saturday, ensuring a series loss at Daikin Park and dropping them six games under .500 at 47-53.
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“We had opportunities to take the lead and win that game,” manager Joe Espada said. “But yeah, that’s a tough loss there.”
Enyel De Los Santos stood one strike from escaping the 11th unscored upon. After O’Neill’s infield single, Leody Taveras singled to provide Baltimore an insurance run it did not need. The Astros finished 2-for-12 with men in scoring position and left 11 runners on base.
The Astros erased a 2-1 deficit in the 10th inning but wasted a ripe opportunity to end the game there. With men on first and third and no outs, the Orioles opted to pitch to Yordan Alvarez rather than walk him and put the possible winning run in scoring position. Alvarez ripped a game-tying double.
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It one-hopped the short wall down the right-field line, a possible bad break for Houston, stopping Nick Allen at third base. It evened out as Isaac Paredes reached on an error to load the bases with no outs.
The Orioles deployed a five-man infield. Altuve arced a fly over it. O’Neill ranged into shallow center, caught it and unleashed a throw to the plate. It beat Allen, extending the game, and pitcher Andrew Kittredge handled Wade’s two-out bunt base-hit attempt to force an 11th inning.
“I think given the situation, it was hard on (O’Neill), he had to make a perfect play, and he did,” Allen said. “Hats off to him.”
Houston pitchers allowed just two hits before the 10th. Their lineup mustered one run in the same span. Concern accompanied failure to capitalize, as shortstop Jeremy Peña and first baseman Christian Walker both left the game due to injury concerns by the fourth inning.
Astros starter Spencer Arrighetti allowed one run in five innings, an encouraging answer to his struggles before the All-Star break. Orioles left-hander Tyler Rogers upstaged him by taking a shutout bid into the seventh inning, which the Astros broke up with a display of small ball.
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Dylan Beavers struck both of Baltimore’s hits before the 10th, a run-scoring double off Arrighetti and a sixth-inning single. AJ Blubaugh gave Houston two scoreless relief innings. Bryan Abreu worked a clean eighth and Josh Hader struck out the side in the top of the ninth. Their efforts went for naught.
“I think we played really well the last two days, we could have won both games,” Espada said. “I’m looking at the effort, I’m looking at the intensity, I’m looking at the commitment to winning, our attitude, and that’s what we want. If we continue to do this, things will turn around.”
Baltimore
AB
R
H
BI
BB
SO
Avg.
Totals
36
4
5
4
6
15
Rutschman dh
4
0
0
0
1
1
.251
Henderson ss
5
1
0
0
0
3
.219
Ward lf
4
1
0
0
1
1
.253
Alonso 1b
3
1
0
0
2
1
.248
Basallo c
3
0
0
0
1
3
.242
Beavers rf
3
0
2
1
0
0
.237
b-O’Neill ph-rf
2
0
1
1
0
1
.199
Cowser cf
3
0
0
0
0
1
.212
c-Mayo ph
1
0
0
0
0
1
.193
Taveras cf
1
1
1
1
0
0
.239
Encarnacion-Strand 3b
5
0
1
0
0
1
.200
Holliday 2b
2
0
0
0
1
2
.211
d-Jackson ph-2b
0
0
0
1
0
0
.252
Houston
AB
R
H
BI
BB
SO
Avg.
Totals
41
2
9
2
2
10
Peña ss
2
0
1
0
0
1
.295
Allen ss
2
0
1
1
0
1
.247
Alvarez dh
4
0
1
1
1
1
.320
Paredes 3b
5
0
1
0
0
0
.254
Altuve 2b
5
0
1
0
0
0
.231
Walker 1b
1
0
0
0
0
1
.234
a-Wade ph-1b
3
0
0
0
1
0
.222
Diaz c
5
0
0
0
0
1
.241
Smith rf
5
0
0
0
0
2
.212
Dezenzo lf
5
1
2
0
0
2
.242
Spence cf
4
1
2
0
0
1
.429
Baltimore
000
100
000
5
2
Houston
000
000
100
9
0
a-walked for Walker in the 4th. b-struck out for Beavers in the 9th. c-struck out for Cowser in the 9th. d-sacrificed for Holliday in the 10th.
E_Encarnacion-Strand (1), Henderson (11). LOB_Baltimore 9, Houston 11. 2B_Beavers (10), Alvarez (19). RBIs_Beavers (14), Jackson (36), O’Neill (13), Taveras (35), Allen (10), Alvarez (72). SB_Alonso (3). S_Jackson, Allen.
Runners left in scoring position_Baltimore 5 (Henderson, Holliday 2, Encarnacion-Strand, Ward); Houston 6 (Wade 2, Walker, Dezenzo, Paredes, Alvarez). RISP_Baltimore 4 for 15; Houston 2 for 12.
Runners moved up_Altuve, Smith. GIDP_Cowser, Alvarez.
DP_Baltimore 2 (Henderson, Alonso; O’Neill, Basallo, O’Neill); Houston 1 (Allen, Wade).
IP
H
R
ER
BB
SO
NP
ERA
6
7
1
1
1
8
99
4.28
0
0
0
1
0
9
2.57
1
0
0
0
0
0
10
2.25
1
0
0
0
0
1
14
2.89
1
2
1
0
0
0
10
4.00
1
0
0
0
0
1
9
7.36
IP
H
R
ER
BB
SO
NP
ERA
5
1
1
1
4
6
85
4.34
2
1
0
0
1
3
40
3.63
1
0
0
0
0
0
15
5.62
1
0
0
0
0
3
13
1.10
1
1
1
0
0
1
14
2.22
1
2
2
1
1
2
25
4.34
Inherited runners-scored_Garcia 2-1. IBB_off Garcia (Alvarez). HBP_Arrighetti (Basallo).
ABS Challenge_Henderson (Strike-Overturned to Ball); Paredes (Strike-Overturned to Ball); Holliday (Strike-Overturned to Ball); Alonso (Strike-Overturned to Ball); Altuve (Strike-Confirmed); Basallo (Strike-Confirmed); O’Neill (Strike-Overturned to Ball).
Pitch timer violations_Garcia (pitcher).
Umpires_Home, Brian O’Nora; First, Chris Segal; Second, Laz Diaz; Third, Erich Bacchus.
T_3:26. A_31,649 (41,000).
Small ball in seventh
Rogers held Houston scoreless into the seventh inning, scattering five singles to that point. He navigated three singles in a scoreless first, erasing one with a double play and striking out Walker with men on first and third to end the inning. No other Astro reached third base until the seventh.
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The bottom of the lineup sparked a rally. Zach Dezenzo lined a single to right field. Lucas Spence, playing in his second major-league game and getting a start against a left-handed pitcher, served a Rogers cutter into right for a single, sending Dezenzo to third.
Spence, a left-handed hitter, had two singles against Rogers. He also got a late-game at-bat Friday against a left-handed reliever and bounced a single up the middle. Espada said he had liked Spence’s at-bats and “hopefully he can settle in and be a good at-bat against both righties and lefties.”
His single chased Rogers at 99 pitches. Rico Garcia entered to face Allen, who had replaced Peña in the fourth inning. In a 1-1 count, Allen executed a squeeze bunt. Dezenzo scored to tie the game. After the Orioles intentionally walked Alvarez, Garcia retired Paredes to preserve the tie.
Five from Arrighetti
Arrighetti posted an 8.74 ERA in his last seven starts before the All-Star break. The impending return of starters Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski from the injured list could produce a rotation logjam soon. Espada did not downplay the significance of Arrighetti’s outing pregame Saturday.
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“It’s a big start for him,” Espada said. “He knows we need him to step up and throw the ball well. He’s got the stuff, he’s capable of doing it, so hopefully he’s able to deliver.”
Arrighetti gave the Astros five innings of one-run ball. He allowed just one hit but had command lapses that created some stressful situations and raised his pitch count. He walked four batters and hit one yet struck out six and kept his only damaging inning from spiraling.
Two walks in the third did not hurt him. In the fourth, Arrighetti issued a leadoff walk to Pete Alonso and clipped Samuel Basallo with an errant curveball. He then fell behind 2-0 to Beavers, who pulled a center-cut fastball into the right-field corner for a double. Alonso scored. Basallo lumbered to third.
Arrighetti induced a ground out by Colton Cowser and a pop-up from Christian Encarnacion-Strand, then froze Jackson Holliday with a third-strike curveball to stem the inning, during which Blubaugh started to warm. He retired his final six batters in a row and exited after the fifth at 85 pitches.
“Been really grinding to make some adjustments in my delivery, so it’s starting to feel a little bit better,” Arrighetti said. “Spraying it a little bit in the fourth inning, I would kind of just attribute to getting a little bit away from the changes I had been making. But we were able to correct that between the fourth and the fifth and I felt really good going back out there in the fifth.”
Hunter Brown and Peter Lambert are solidified in the rotation. Tatsuya Imai’s spot could be insulated by his contract. Blanco appears on the brink of returning, with Wesneski possibly another rehab start away. Arrighetti perhaps aided his own case Saturday with one of his better outings since May.
“I’ve said it probably a hundred times this year, I just want to give the team a chance to win every time I take the ball, and I feel like I did that today,” Arrighetti said. “Just want to keep building on that, building on the stuff ticking up, building on just feeling a little bit more in control with things when I go out there. So yeah, it was definitely big for me.”
Peña exits
Peña was removed from the game after the third inning due to what the Astros termed a right hamstring cramp, the second time that has occurred this season.
Peña, batting in the bottom of the third, took a swing on a foul ball and was visited by a team trainer and Espada. Peña appeared to be shaking out his right leg during the discussion. He stayed in to finish the at-bat and struck out swinging on the next pitch. Allen then replaced him on defense in the fourth.
“Once he took the last swing, it cramped up again, so we just took him out to make sure we take care of it,” Espada said.
Peña has missed time to injuries in both legs this season. He missed more than a month due to a Grade 1 right hamstring strain, returning on May 18. He also left a game in Toronto in June with a right hamstring cramp. He then missed 10 days before the All-Star break with a left calf strain.
Walker exits, too
Shortly after Peña’s removal, Walker left the game with a trainer mid-at-bat. The Astros said Walker was removed due to “right hip tightness.”
In the bottom of the fourth, Walker took a check-swing and promptly reached for and stretched out his right side. Espada and a trainer emerged from the dugout. Walker was removed after a talk and without seeing another pitch. Wade finished the at-bat and stayed in the game at first base.
Walker entered Saturday with a .234/.311/.457 slash line this season. He was hit on the right hand by a pitch Friday night but imaging showed no fracture, Espada said pregame. Walker has played in 98 of the Astros’ 100 games this season, tied with Alvarez and Cam Smith for most on the team.
On Javier
Cristian Javier, who started Houston’s final game before the All-Star break, is back in the bullpen during this series. Espada said Javier is “available out of the pen for the time being” while the Astros decide on their starting plans for upcoming series against the Marlins and White Sox.
Javier, the highest-paid pitcher on Houston’s roster, was placed in the bullpen upon returning early this month from a shoulder strain. He started Sunday’s game at Texas in the spot vacated by Mike Burrows’ option to Triple-A — and subsequent IL placement — and threw three innings on 60 pitches