Orioles catcher Samuel Basallo gets set to tag out the Astros’ Nick Allen to complete a double play on a throw from Tyler O’Neill as Houston tried to score the winning run in the 10th inning Saturday.
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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A painful loss for the Houston Astros on Saturday pivoted on two late plays. Both involved aggression on the basepaths. The first occurred on a ball hit by Jose Altuve to Baltimore’s Tyler O’Neill, the second on a ball hit by O’Neill to Altuve.
In the bottom of the 10th inning, Altuve came up to hit in a 2-2 game with the bases loaded and no outs. As the Orioles met on the mound, center fielder Leody Taveras jogged to the infield and changed gloves. He set up near second base in a five-man infield, leaving most of center field open.
In an 0-2 count, Altuve lunged for a slider and lifted it into center. Right fielder Tyler O’Neill ran over and caught the ball 271 feet from home plate, having circled it slightly to set his direction more toward home plate as Nick Allen tagged up from third base.
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Astros manager Joe Espada later deemed it “100 percent” the correct decision to tag up and try to score on the play.
“(O’Neill) was in right field, he ran all the way to almost straight-up center, plants, throws,” Espada said after the 4-2 loss. “You’ve got to force him to make that play.”
Said Allen: “I was ready to go, I felt like I had a good jump, I got the green light from (third base coach) Tony (Perezchica). And I thought I would have been able to make it, he just made a really good throw.”
O’Neill, who ranks in the 85th percentile among major-leaguers in arm strength, per Baseball Savant, made a throw that reached catcher Samuel Basallo in the air, a few feet up the third-base line. Basallo turned and tagged Allen as he passed on a head-first slide. The Astros did not challenge.
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“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.”
It left runners on second and third still with two outs. LaMonte Wade Jr. took a strike from right-hander Andrew Kittredge, then bunted the next pitch toward third base. Kittredge fielded the ball bare-handed and threw out Wade by a half-step, ending the inning.
“The first pitch, (third baseman Christian) Encarnacion-Strand was in,” Wade said. “I took it for a strike. Then I saw him back off … so I was like, I just need to get it over there, get it past the pitcher and close to the line and it should work out just like (his bunt single) in Texas. But didn’t get it far enough. Kittredge made a good play. If I could do it over again, I would try and push it a little harder.”
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Kittredge’s play forced an 11th inning. Enyel De Los Santos issued a leadoff walk, then struck out his next two batters. O’Neill came up with runners on first and second. In a full count, he hit a chopper slowly to the right side of the Astros’ infield.
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Altuve, the second baseman, was shaded nearly to the bag. He ran to his left, fielded the ball in front of him about halfway between first and second base and threw to first. O’Neill beat it. Gunnar Henderson, running from second, never stopped and scored the go-ahead run.
“Jose’s playing pull, he’s almost playing behind the bag, O’Neill runs well,” Espada said. “That’s a tough play.”
Wade, the first baseman, also deemed it a “tough play” for Altuve, who was not available for comment postgame, given the distance to cover and pace of the ball. O’Neill’s grounder left the bat at 54.5 mph, per Statcast. Its spin off the end of O’Neill’s bat also made it less than straightforward, said Allen.
“If you’re coming through it fast, with all that spin on the ball, very hard play to make,” said Allen, the middle infielder who entered Saturday’s game after shortstop Jeremy Peña left with a hamstring cramp.
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Allen said his read was “the main thing (Altuve) was trying to do was obviously field it cleanly, because we had a runner that was on second base.” Though Henderson never stopped running rounding third, both Allen and Wade agreed the priority for the fielder in that situation is the play at first base.
“And like I said, it’s hard to be aggressive on that ball just because of the spin on it,” Allen said. “They made an aggressive play and they went anyway, they were just hoping that he was going to make the throw to first. And it was the right play to make, because we still had a shot at first.”
Henderson’s run proved decisive, though Taveras added an RBI single for insurance. It resulted in what Espada acknowledged was “a tough loss” for the Astros. Their lineup finished 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base. Their pitchers allowed just five hits and struck out 15 batters. Both Peña and first baseman Christian Walker exited by the fourth inning with injury concerns.
It dropped the Astros back to six games under .500 at 47-53. They’ve emerged from the All-Star break with consecutive losses to Baltimore, not the second-half start envisioned by a club that has declared itself a buyer at the Aug. 3 trade deadline. Saturday marked its 100th game of the season. Espada said “it’s a little bit too early” to be looking at standings.
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“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.”