Kyle Tucker hit two home runs, giving him a league-leading 17, and Jeremy Peña’s RBI single in the 10th inning lifted the Houston Astros to a 6-5 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday night.
The Angels decided to walk Yordan Alvarez intentionally with no outs in the 10th, with Kyle Tucker on second as the automatic runner. Both players moved up on a fly out by Alex Bregman before Peña singled off Carlos Estévez (0-3) with a line drive to right field, securing the victory for Houston.
“Great teams have to be able to win coming from behind,” Peña said. “Hard-fought game from both sides, and we’ve got to keep playing good baseball.”
Los Angeles manager Ron Washington commented on Estévez’s performance, saying, “I thought he was throwing the ball well. You’ve got to give Pena credit. Their first five hitters are dangerous — very dangerous. We put ourselves in a good position to win it, but in the end they got it.”
Tucker homered in the first inning, and his second solo shot tied the game in the seventh. Alvarez also hit a solo home run, and Jon Singleton hit a two-run homer for the Astros.
Josh Hader (3-3) pitched two scoreless innings, striking out the side in the 10th for the win. Luis Rengifo and Kevin Pillar both homered for the Angels, and Nolan Schanuel tied a career-high with three hits.
The game was tied with two outs in the seventh when Pillar hit a fastball from Bryan Abreu into the first row of the seats in left field to put the Angels up 5-4.
Tucker tied the game with one out in the bottom of the inning with his shot to right field. Tucker tied a franchise record for most homers through Houston’s first 49 games.
“Every time he comes to the plate, you’re just expecting him to do something awesome, and he is doing stuff that only a few players can do,” manager Joe Espada said. “He’s definitely one of the best players in this league, and he’s really picking us up right now.”
