Tyler O’Neill and Leody Taveras delivered back-to-back run-scoring singles with two outs in the 11th inning as the visiting Baltimore Orioles outlasted the Houston Astros 4-2 on Saturday.
O’Neill beat out an infield single to Jose Altuve second base that allowed Gunnar Henderson to score from second base. Taveras followed with a single to center that plated Taylor Ward, who walked to open the inning against Enyel De Los Santos (0-3), the sixth pitcher of the day for the Astros.
Pinch hitter Jeremiah Jackson gave the Orioles a 2-1 lead in the top of the 10th with a sacrfice bunt that scored Taveras, who opened the frame as the automatic runner at second base and advanced to third on an infield single. The Astros matched in the bottom of that inning when Yordan Alvarez produced an RBI double that plated Lucas Spence, but Houston failed to secure the victory despite loading the bases with no outs against Orioles reliever Andrew Kittridge (1-1).
Nick Allen, an injury substitution for Jeremy Pena (hamstring) in the fourth inning, delivered a perfect squeeze bunt that scored Zach Dezenzo from third base and knotted the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh. Allen was the first batter faced by Orioles reliever Rico Garcia.
The Orioles grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth when Pete Alonso (walk) and Samuel Basallo (hit by pitch) reached in succession to open that frame. Dylan Beavers followed with a double into the right field corner off Astros right-hander Spencer Arrighetti that plated Alonso.
That was the lone hit allowed by Arrighetti, who worked five innings but issued four walks. Arrighetti notched six strikeouts and remained unbeaten in nine starts following an Astros loss.
Orioles left-hander Trevor Rogers carried a shutout into the seventh inning before faltering. He surrendered three hits in the first but induced a double-play grounder from Alvarez before Christian Walker struck out.
Walker was the first of nine consecutive batters retired by Rogers, with LaMonte Wade Jr. snapping that stretch when he reached on a fielding error by third baseman Christian Encarnacion-Strand with two outs in the fourth. Wade replaced Walker mid-plate appearance after Walker departed due to right hip tightness.
Dezenzo and Spence singled in succession with one out in the seventh and chased Rogers from the hill. Rogers posted his fifth consecutive start allowing one run or fewer and notched a season-high eight strikeouts. He surrendered one run on seven hits and one walk over 6 1/3 innings.
