The Houston Astros debated whether to have Tony Kemp bunt or swing away in a pressure-packed situation.
Swing away won out. It ignited quite a rally.
Kemp lined a go-ahead single off closer Wade Davis as part of a six-run 10th inning and the Astros beat the Colorado Rockies 8-2 on Tuesday night.
“He’s a good bunter but he’s a really good hitter, so we told him hit the ball to the outfield,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “He’s a good listener.”
Kemp’s one-out hit brought in Josh Reddick, who led off the inning with a single to center that Charlie Blackmon misplayed and had bounce by him for his first error of the season. A hustling Reddick wound up on third and set the stage.
“I went up to the plate and (Hinch) just said, ‘Hey, you’re a good hitter,'” Kemp recounted. “That’s all I needed to hear right there.”
Davis (0-3) later surrendered a two-run triple to pinch-hitter Kyle Tucker and a two-run homer to George Springer as the Astros beat the Rockies for the seventh straight time in a streak that dates to 2013. Davis was charged with five runs. It’s the most runs he’s allowed as a reliever.
“Hung a curveball” to Kemp, Davis explained. “It wasn’t pretty after that.”
The six runs allowed in the 10th are the second-most allowed in extra innings in Rockies franchise history.
Yuli Gurriel added an RBI single during an inning in which Houston had seven hits.
Hector Rondon (2-2) pitched a clean ninth to earn the win, with Brad Peacock finishing the 10th.
The Rockies trailed 2-0 going into the seventh and had two hits off starter Gerrit Cole before solving the All-Star right-hander. Nolan Arenado led off with a double and Carlos Gonzalez brought him in with another double. Gerardo Parra tied the game on a single to right-center. That was it for Cole, who was replaced by reliever Collin McHugh. He ended the jam by getting Garrett Hampson to line into a double play.
Alex Bregman provided the offense in the opening inning with his 21st homer. And while technically it was his first homer since July 13, the third baseman did hit one out in the 10th inning of the All-Star Game last week, which helped send the AL to the win and led to Bregman picking up MVP honors.
Bregman’s liner to left came after Springer reached on an error by All-Star shortstop Trevor Story to begin a game that was delayed an hour by weather.
“Our defense has been one of our strengths all season,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “Tonight, there were a couple of mishaps. That’s part of the human element of this game.”
Cole pitched masterfully into the seventh before running out of steam. He struck out nine.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: SS Carlos Correa (back) is hitting off a tee, doing some running, playing catch and asking to take grounders. “It’s another good step forward,” Hinch said. … C Brian McCann (knee) has been doing more cardio work, but not “doing anything on the field,” Hinch said. “He’s working hard and making progress.”
Rockies: RHP Chad Bettis (blister) will soon throw a bullpen session. He left a rehab start over the weekend after 70 pitches with a blister issue. … LHP Chris Rusin was placed on the DL with left plantar fasciitis.
QUITE A MOVE
Left hander Tyler Anderson’s pickoff move bailed him out of several tight spots. He froze Jose Altuve, who didn’t even try to scramble back to first, and also got a diving Reddick.
CATCH AND RELEASE
There’s nothing fishy about this: Blackmon, Chris Iannetta and several other Rockies players spent Monday’s time off reeling in trout.
“Being in the mountains in Colorado by the side of a river with the water rushing by you and being able to fish, pretty good off day for me,” Iannetta said.
The catch of the day belonged to lefty Sam Howard.
“Sam caught a monster,” said Iannetta, who left the game in the eighth after being hit by a pitch on his right arm. “The thing looks like a mutant. Definitely fun to see him hook something that big.”
UP NEXT
Astros: RHP Charlie Morton (11-2, 2.96 ERA) makes his ninth career start against Colorado on Wednesday. He’s 2-2 with a 4.53 ERA versus the Rockies.
Rockies: RHP Jon Gray (8-7, 5.44) allowed one run over 7 1/3 innings against Seattle on July 14 in his return to the rotation. Gray, the team’s opening day starter who was sent to Triple-A Albuquerque to hone his mechanics, has never started against Houston.
AROUND THE MAJORS TUESDAY
–The Pittsburgh Pirates have run their winning streak to 11 games by clobbering the AL Central leaders for the second straight night. Gregory Polanco and Starling Marte each hit two-run homers while the Bucs were building a 7-0 lead by the second inning of a 9-4 trouncing of the Indians in Cleveland. Polanco’s blast chased Shane Bieber, who was tagged for seven runs and seven hits in just 1 2/3 innings. Marte collected three RBIs, Josh Bell smacked a two-run homer and Corey Dickerson was 2-for-3 with a two-run triple. Marte has hit safely in his last 17 games. Joe Musgrove allowed two runs and five hits over seven innings for his first win since Jun 29. The Pirates are four games over .500 following their longest winning streak since September 1996. The Indians dropped their third in a row despite homers by Edwin Encarnacion and Brandon Guyer.
–Meanwhile, the Phillies won a marathon against the Dodgers to move one game ahead of Atlanta for the NL East lead. Trevor Plouffe belted a three-run, walk-off homer off Kike Hernandez in the 16th inning to send Philadelphia past Los Angeles, 7-4. Yasmani Grandal homered twice while the Dodgers built a 4-1 lead. Maikel Franco started the Phils’ comeback with an RBI double in the seventh before coming around to score on Jorge Alfaro’s game-tying, two-run homer.
— J.T. Realmuto belted a two-run homer and had four RBIs as the Marlins crushed the Braves, 9-3. Starlin Castro added a three-run homer, and Brian Anderson had three hits while scoring three times. Pitcher Wei-Yin Chen got his first big league extra-base hit, scored his first career run and allowed three runs over six innings to pick up the victory.
— Clay Buchholz returned from the disabled list and gave up one run over 6 2/3 innings to pitch the Diamondbacks past the Cubs, 5-1. Steven Souza Jr. had three hits and an RBI in helping Arizona win its third in a row. Souza, Paul Goldschmidt and Jake Lamb each drove in a run during a three-run fifth before the Diamondbacks climbed within a half-game of the NL West-leading Dodgers.
— Tyler Saladino lifted a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th to give the Brewers a 5-4 win over the Nationals, pushing Milwaukee within 1 ½ games of the NL Central-leading Cubs. Christian Yelich belted a two-run homer to help the Brew Crew storm back from a 4-0 deficit. Lorenzo Cain singled home the tying run in the seventh to help Milwaukee win its second straight since a 1-8 skid.
— Boston’s lead in the AL East is down to five games over the Yankees after Tim Beckham and Jonathan Schoop each homered and had three RBIs in the Orioles’ 7-6 triumph over the Red Sox. Beckham hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the fifth, one inning before his sacrifice fly sparked a three-run rally that put Baltimore ahead 7-3. J.D. Martinez belted his 30th and 31st home runs for the Red Sox, who also got round-trippers from Mookie Betts and Blake Swihart.
— Masahiro Tanaka struck out nine while going the distance on a three-hitter as the Yankees blanked the Rays, 4-0. Austin Romine drove in two runs without a hit to support Tanaka’s third career shutout. Miguel Andujar had two hits and scored twice for New York.
— The Mariners suffered a 4-3 loss to the Giants on second baseman Dee Gordon’s throwing error in the ninth inning. Hunter Pence hit a solo shot and Kelby Tomlinson went 2-for-3 with an RBI single as San Francisco moved 4 ½ games off the NL West lead. Guillermo Heredia homered for the Mariners.
— The Athletics won for the 25th time in 32 games by rallying from a 10-2 deficit in a 13-10, 10-inning win over the Rangers. Khris Davis broke a 10-10 tie with a three-run blast in the 10th, one inning after Stephen Piscotty extended the game with a solo shot. Jed Lowrie and Mark Canha also went deep for the A’s, who scored 11 times over the final four innings.
— Jose Berrios was terrific in the Twins’ 5-0 shutout of the Blue Jays, striking out nine and scattering four hits over seven innings. Eduardo Escobar was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a three-run homer that put the game out of reach. Robbie Grossman doubled home a run for the Twins, who are within 7 ½ games of the AL Central-leading Indians.
— The Cardinals pulled out a 4-2 win over the Reds on Dexter Fowler’s two-run homer in the 11th inning. Austin Gomber carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning of his first major league start, one night after Daniel Poncedeleon no-hit the Reds for seven innings in his big league debut. Eugenio Suarez hit a game-tying homer for the second straight game, a two-run blast in the seventh.
— Carlos Rodon carried one-hit shutout into the eighth inning of the White Sox’s 4-2 victory over the Angels. Rodon no-hit Los Angeles until Andrelton Simmons hit a two-out single in the sixth. Yoan Moncada smacked a solo homer for Chicago.
— Michael Conforto slammed a two-run homer and Devin Mesoraco provided a three-run double as the Mets doubled up the Padres, 6-3. Zack Wheeler tossed four-hit ball over seven innings and blanked San Diego after Wil Myers hit a two-run single that brought the Padres within 3-2 in the third inning.
— Mike Moustakas and Salvador Perez homered and drove in two runs apiece in the Royals’ 5-4 win over the Tigers. Burch Smith allowed only a fourth-inning single by Niko Goodrum and left leading 5-0 with one out in the seventh before Victor Martinez blasted a three-run homer.