Alex Bregman and Yainer Diaz hit solo home runs on back-to-back pitches in the seventh inning, leading the Houston Astros to a 6-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday night, which allowed them to split the four-game series.
In the fifth inning, Ramón Urías hit a three-run homer for the Orioles to tie the game, but Bregman and Diaz’s home runs in the seventh off Burch Smith (2-1) gave Houston a 5-3 lead.
Bregman, who has been dealing with elbow issues, said, “The swing felt the best it’s felt since coming back. Obviously missing some time, you kind of lose a little bit of the rhythm that you had.”
Héctor Neris (1-0) got four outs in his first game back with the Astros this week. He had been with the team in 2022 and 2023 before being released by the Chicago Cubs.
Manager Joe Espada commented, “Just like he was back at home. Big outs.”
Bryan Abreu pitched in the eighth inning, and Josh Hader closed the game with his 28th consecutive save since his first blown save of the season.
The Astros stayed 4 1/2 games ahead of Seattle in the AL West, while the Orioles fell 1 1/2 games behind the New York Yankees in the AL East.
Astros outfielder Mauricio Dubón was hurt after crashing into the left field wall while making a great running catch. Dubón sprinted deep into the corner and made a backhanded catch on a fly ball hit by Urías but couldn’t stop before hitting the wall.
Dubón was down for a while but managed to walk off the field. That was the final out of the seventh inning, and Houston replaced him in the eighth. Jake Meyers, the substitute batter, contributed with a sacrifice fly to extend the Astros’ lead to three runs.
