Astros rally in 8th, win on walk-off HR in 10th
HOUSTON -- Marwin Gonzalez crushed a walk-off home run to right field to lead off the 10th inning off Brad Boxberger to give the Astros a 3-2 win over the Rays on Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park.
Gonzalez, a utility player who's pushing for a more consistent role, made his first start of the year in left field and went 3-for-4 with a sacrifice bunt. The Astros tied the game on an RBI double by Carlos Correa in the eighth, and Luke Gregerson pitched two perfect innings in relief for the win.
"The important thing is to win games, no matter if I'm in there or not," Gonzalez said. "If I'm in there, I'm going to enjoy it and have fun. If not, I'm going to root for my teammates."
Rays starter Jake Odorizzi struck out nine batters and allowed one run and six hits in six innings, and Astros starter Scott Feldman threw seven innings and allowed two runs.
"What a great win for us on a lot of fronts," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "There's so many people we could point to today, but to win that game after some missed opportunities and a close game, it looked like those little opportunities were going to be big. Good win for us."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
No shortage of action for Correa: The rookie shortstop, who hit a game-tying double in the eighth, made a spectacular diving stop in the first inning to rob Logan Forsythe of a hit, and that was just the beginning of a wild night of action for Correa. He later recovered to make a pair of outs after knocking balls down at shortstop, and then had the city of Houston holding its breath when he was on the ground holding his right ankle following a seventh-inning collision with center fielder Carlos Gomez. More >
"I got a lot of hard-hit balls right at me," Correa said. "One that took me backwards and I slipped in the grass and I was able to get the out. It was definitely an active night out there."
Video: TB@HOU: Correa's diving stop robs Forsythe of a hit
Odorizzi rebounds: Odorizzi allowed six earned runs in six innings en route to a no-decision in his previous outing against the Braves. On Tuesday night, he rebounded nicely. The right-hander has 13 quality starts on the season.
Video: TB@HOU: Odorizzi fans nine in six solid innings
Casali comes through: In the fifth, the Rays' Curt Casali clubbed his ninth homer of the season to tie the score at 1. He followed his blast with a bloop, dropping a double into left field that moved Kevin Kiermaier to third in the seventh. Kiermaier then scored the go-ahead run on Evan Longoria's ground ball. Eight of Casali's last 14 hits have been homers.
Video: TB@HOU: Casali bloops a double into center in the 7th
QUOTABLE
"I threw it right down the middle. So I missed the location on it and he didn't miss the pitch." -- Boxberger, on surrendering the game-winning home run
"He gets to play tomorrow. I'm not sure what position." -- Hinch, on the red-hot Gonzalez, who has started at five positions this year
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Longoria had two hits and drove in a run in the seventh. He has 24 RBIs in 26 career games against the Astros, including 18 in 13 games at Minute Maid Park.
Jose Altuve's last 26 hits have been singles. The last Astros player to have 26 singles without an extra-base hit was pitcher Roy Oswalt, who had 31 singles from 2007-10. The last position player was Willy Taveras, who had 26 singles in 2005.
REPLAY REVIEW
Hinch successfully challenged a play at first base in the third inning. Altuve was awarded a single after originally being called out following a bunt to third baseman Longoria
Video: TB@HOU: Altuve safe at first after review in 3rd
WHAT'S NEXT
Rays: Nathan Karns (7-5, 3.53 ERA) makes his second start of the Texas leg of the road trip on Wednesday after facing the Rangers on Friday night in Arlington. The right-hander, who is from Texas, has made 17 starts in which he's allowed two runs or fewer, which is tied with the A's Sonny Gray for the American League lead. He needs just one more start of two runs or fewer to tie Rolando Arrojo's franchise rookie record set in 1998. The game is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET.
Astros: Left-hander Dallas Keuchel (14-6, 2.36 ERA) tries to continue his home dominance when the Astros meet the Rays at 7:10 p.m. CT on Wednesday at Minute Maid Park. He's 11-0 with a 1.26 ERA at home, with 98 strikeouts in 92 2/3 innings. Dating to last year, he has won 12 consecutive decisions at home.
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