The Houston Astros defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-9 on Wednesday night inside Daikin Park. In what was expected to be a pitcher’s duel, the offenses carried the way in an impressive Astros comeback.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The contest had plenty of Louisiana flair, as the pitching matchup consisted of former Louisiana Ragin’ Cajun Spencer Arrighetti and former LSU Tiger Paul Skenes. Both right-handers are having standout seasons so far.
Arrighetti got the ball to start, and he navigated a clean first inning, giving his offense a chance to get things going.
Skenes, however, matched Arrighetti with a zero of his own, keeping this game scoreless in the early stages.
The game stayed 0-0 until the bottom of the third. In that frame, the Astros got to Skenes first. Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes both brought home runs with RBI singles. That gave Houston a 2-0 advantage.
The lead was short-lived, however. In the fourth inning, the Pirates loaded the bases with two outs. Then, Henry Davis hit a mammoth grand slam over the train tracks in left field. That made it 4-2 in favor of Pittsburgh.
Arrighetti’s night would end after just four innings, and Skenes was not far behind him. In the fifth inning, with the pitch count up over 100, Cam Smith delivered an RBI single to make it 4-3 and end Paul’s outing after four and two-thirds innings.
The Pirates would get a single run in the sixth and then three more in the seventh. Nick Gonzales provided two of the three with a two-run shot. After that, it was 8-3 Pirates.
Isaac Paredes launched a two-run home run to cut into the lead in the bottom half, making it 8-5. That run would be answered, however, giving Pittsburgh a 9-5 lead.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Astros had two outs and nobody on. Then, the comeback began. Houston would score six in the frame, including RBI hits from Christian Vasquez, Christian Walker, Alvarez, and the go-ahead RBIs from Cam Smith.
With an 11-9 lead, Josh Hader made his season debut fresh off the injury list. He was able to shut the door on the Pirates, securing a comeback win for the Astros.
BIG NUMBER: 20
Despite a battle of two of the best starting pitchers in the league this season, the offenses provided 20 runs. It was far from the pitcher’s duel that was expected.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Josh Hader
The Astros are going to need Hader to be a major weapon in the bullpen now that he has returned. He looked sharp in his debut, retiring three of four hitters to secure the save and win for Houston.
UP NEXT: The Astros and Pirates will wrap up their three-game set tomorrow night at 7:10 PM inside Daikin Park. You can listen to the action on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette 104.1 Lake Charles.