Taylor Ward’s two-run homer in the eighth gave the Orioles a 3-2 lead over the Astros on Friday.
Alex Slitz/Getty Images
Bryan King gave up a two-run homer in the eighth against the Orioles on Friday.
Alex Slitz/Getty Images
To start the Houston Astros’ nominal second half, Peter Lambert picked up where he left off before the All-Star break. But so, too, did the struggles of a key reliever. And a lineup that failed to capitalize on a series of scoring chances magnified the latter.
Taylor Ward hit a two-run home run off Bryan King in Friday’s eighth inning that turned a one-run lead for the Astros into a deficit and proved the decisive swing as the Orioles dealt Houston a 3-2 loss in the opener of a series at Daikin Park.
Ward’s blast occurred a half-inning after the Astros loaded the bases with one out and could not score, capping a display of offensive incapacity. Houston left 11 runners on base Friday night in falling back to five games under .500 with a 47-52 record.
Article continues below this ad
“We had opportunities to open that game up,” manager Joe Espada said. “And we tried to do a little bit too much at times.”
Baltimore
AB
R
H
BI
BB
SO
Avg.
Totals
31
3
5
3
4
13
Henderson ss
4
0
0
0
0
1
.222
Rutschman c
2
1
1
0
1
0
.255
Ward lf
3
1
1
2
1
1
.256
Alonso 1b
3
0
0
1
1
2
.250
Basallo dh
4
0
0
0
0
2
.245
Beavers rf
3
0
0
0
0
3
.227
b-Taveras ph-rf
1
0
0
0
0
0
.236
Cowser cf
4
0
1
0
0
0
.215
Mayo 3b
4
1
1
0
0
2
.194
Holliday 2b
2
0
1
0
0
1
.215
a-Jackson ph-2b
1
0
0
0
1
1
.252
Houston
AB
R
H
BI
BB
SO
Avg.
Totals
28
2
6
2
9
8
Peña ss
3
2
2
0
2
0
.293
Alvarez dh
3
0
2
1
2
0
.321
Paredes 3b
3
0
1
1
1
1
.254
1-Allen pr
0
0
0
0
0
0
.241
Walker 1b
4
0
0
0
0
3
.234
Altuve 2b
4
0
0
0
0
1
.232
Wade lf
1
0
0
0
3
0
.242
Smith rf
4
0
0
0
0
2
.215
Spence cf
3
0
1
0
1
0
.333
Vázquez c
2
0
0
0
0
1
.217
c-Trammell ph
1
0
0
0
0
0
.228
Baltimore
001
000
020_3
5
0
Houston
101
000
000_2
6
0
a-struck out for Holliday in the 7th. b-grounded out for Beavers in the 8th. c-flied out for Vázquez in the 9th.
1-ran for Paredes in the 9th.
LOB_Baltimore 6, Houston 11. 2B_Rutschman (19), Alvarez (18). HR_Ward (7), off King. RBIs_Alonso (66), Ward 2 (27), Alvarez (71), Paredes (50). SB_Mayo (2). SF_Paredes. S_Vázquez.
Runners left in scoring position_Baltimore 3 (Basallo 2, Henderson); Houston 3 (Walker 3). RISP_Baltimore 1 for 3; Houston 1 for 7.
Runners moved up_Altuve. LIDP_Smith. GIDP_Altuve.
DP_Baltimore 2 (Henderson, Holliday, Alonso; Mayo, Holliday, Mayo).
Baltimore
IP
H
R
ER
BB
SO
NP
ERA
Kremer
4
4
2
2
3
5
83
4.15
Nunez
2
0
0
0
2
0
36
4.81
Wolfram
1-3
1
0
0
2
0
15
4.71
Sanders, W, 1-0
2-3
0
0
0
0
1
14
8.10
Kittredge, H, 5
1
0
0
0
1
1
16
4.15
Wells, S, 3-3
1
1
0
0
1
1
29
2.96
Houston
IP
H
R
ER
BB
SO
NP
ERA
Lambert
6
3
1
1
3
10
104
3.03
Okert, H, 12
1
0
0
0
0
2
16
2.27
King, L, 2-3, BS, 6-10
1
2
2
2
0
1
17
3.27
De Los Santos
1
0
0
0
1
0
12
4.23
Inherited runners-scored_Sanders 3-0. HBP_Lambert (Rutschman), Nunez (Walker).
ABS Challenge_Beavers (Strike-Confirmed); Smith (Strike-Overturned to Ball); Lambert (Ball-Confirmed); Vázquez (Strike-Confirmed); Basallo (Strike-Confirmed).
Umpires_Home, Laz Diaz; First, Brian O’Nora; Second, Chris Segal; Third, Erich Bacchus.
T_3:13. A_31,867 (41,000).
The Orioles had five hits. Houston struck six but drew nine walks, creating traffic that it too often failed to cash in. Lambert, still, spun six strong innings, striking out a career-high 10 hitters, to hand a 2-1 lead to the Astros’ bullpen.
Leadoff man Jeremy Peña reached base and scored twice in the first three innings against Orioles right-hander Dean Kremer, on a double by Yordan Alvarez and a sacrifice fly by Isaac Paredes. Both Peña and Alvarez reached base four times on the night. Opportunities to build a bigger lead went unfulfilled.
Article continues below this ad
Paredes singled after Alvarez’s first-inning double to put men on first and third with no outs. The Astros extracted nothing more from the inning. A two-on, one-out chance in the sixth fizzled when the Orioles doubled Christian Walker off second base on a Cam Smith lineout.
A single and two walks by left-hander Grant Wolfram loaded the bases with one out in the seventh. The Orioles turned to right-hander Cam Sanders, who struck out Paredes looking and got Walker to pop out, preserving Baltimore’s one-run deficit.
Ward erased it. Adley Rutschman began the eighth with a double into the right-field corner. Ward then sent King’s first-pitch slider 399 feet over the wall in left-center. King didn’t allow a home run to a right-handed hitter in his first 38 outings this season. He has allowed four in his last three appearances.
Three of those have broken a tie or erased an Astros lead. Ward’s left the Astros two chances to answer. Andrew Kittredge navigated a one-out walk in the eighth. That did ensure Alvarez’s spot would come up in the ninth.
Article continues below this ad
Peña beat a one-out infield single that all but forced Baltimore to pitch to Alvarez. Tyler Wells won their matchup, inducing a flyout on a changeup. Paredes drew a walk to put the possible tying run in scoring position. Wells struck Walker out swinging at a fastball to end the game.
“We got some traffic again there, an opportunity to win the game in the ninth,” Espada said. “These guys don’t stop pushing.”
Lambert deals
Houston shuffled its rotation during the break to bring Lambert back on five days’ rest for Friday’s series opener. Lambert rewarded the decision by striking out a career-high 10 batters across six innings of one-run ball, continuing his remarkable season.
Lambert owns a 3.03 ERA in 16 starts. As of Friday night, just five qualified American League pitchers had lower ones. Lambert’s 92 innings are short of qualifying for rate stats, but he leads Astros starters in ERA, wins and strikeouts and ranks second in innings pitched.
Article continues below this ad
The Astros signed Lambert to a minor-league deal last winter and granted his release before opening day after he did not make their initial roster. His decision to re-sign with Houston on a new minor-league deal and report to Triple-A is keeping the club afloat.
Baltimore started six left-handed or switch-hitters Friday against the right-hander. Lambert’s fastball and changeup have helped him neutralize platoon matchups. He entered the day holding left-handed hitters to a .143 average and .507 OPS. The Orioles managed three hits against him.
Coby Mayo singled to start the third inning and scored when Lambert issued three consecutive two-out walks, including one to Pete Alonso with the bases loaded. Samuel Basallo flied out to finish the inning. Lambert struck out Gunnar Henderson to end the fourth with men on first and third.
“Felt pretty good,” Lambert said. “As always, (catcher Christian Vázquez), great job back there, great game plan. We were for the most part able to execute pretty good. In the third inning it got away from us a little bit, but was able to reel it back in and get through six.”
Article continues below this ad
Lambert finished six strikeouts with his four-seam fastball, generating nine whiffs on 17 swings against the pitch. A wide arsenal allows him to use the fastball, which he threw 30% of the time, as a put-away pitch. Orioles hitters took 46 swings against him and put 11 balls in play, just three hard-hit.
Basallo mounted a 12-pitch battle to begin the sixth inning. Lambert threw a 95.6 mph fastball past him for strike three, his hardest pitch of the night. His second-hardest was a 95.3 mph four-seamer to finish off his next hitter, Dylan Beavers. Lambert threw 104 pitches in the quality start.
Top three vs. Kremer
Kremer essentially navigated the Astros’ lineup twice. Their top three hitters — Peña, Alvarez and Paredes — reached base in all six plate appearances against him. The rest of the order was 0-for-9 with two walks.
Peña walked to open the first and scored when Alvarez arced a double high off the all in left-center field. The carom allowed Peña to cruise in easily with the game’s first run. Paredes singled, putting runners on first and third with nobody out. Houston could not add on. Kremer struck out Walker and got a double-play grounder from Jose Altuve.
In the third, Peña struck a leadoff single. Alvarez pulled a two-strike curveball into right field for a single, sending Peña to third. Paredes did what two hitters in the first could not — producing a fly ball into right field that worked for a sacrifice fly. Kremer allowed no further damage. But the Astros worked a series of deep counts, making him throw 83 pitches in four innings, and he did not return for the fifth.
Lucas Spence’s debut
Called up after just 17 games at Triple-A Sugar Land, outfield prospect Lucas Spence made his debut and a start in center field. Swing decisions are a key part of Spence’s profile. He showed that selectivity in his first major-league plate appearance, working a nine-pitch walk against Kremer.
His second yielded a groundout. Spence’s lineup spot came around again to lead off the seventh inning. The Orioles brought in left-hander Grant Wolfram to start the inning. Houston let Spence, a left-handed hitter, take the at-bat.
Spence swung at a first-pitch sinker from Wolfram and sent a 103.7 mph grounder back up the middle, into center field, for a single and his first major-league hit. He stood on third base with one out but the Astros could not score him.
“Quality at-bats,” Espada said. “I thought he played with energy, I think he really enjoyed his first major-league start. So that was encouraging to see. The at-bats were really good. He made some really good swing decisions. That was good to watch.”
Triple Crown watch
Alvarez reached the All-Star break leading qualified American League hitters in home runs and RBIs and second in batting average behind the Rays’ Yandy Díaz. Tampa Bay played a doubleheader Friday against the Red Sox, and Díaz went hitless in eight at-bats, lowering his average to .314.
As a result, Alvarez, with hits in each of his first two at-bats Friday, finished the night with a .321 average and leading the American League in all three Triple Crown categories. The slugger is vying to become the majors’ first Triple Crown winner since Miguel Cabrera in 2012 with the Tigers.