WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — It wasn’t pretty, but the Astros will take it.
Houston survived a four-run Baltimore fifth inning, answered with a three-run rally of its own in the sixth, held off a late Orioles push, and walked off 7–6 Tuesday at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches on a Tyler Whitaker sacrifice fly in the ninth. It was the kind of game that tests a roster—and gave several players on the fringe a chance to answer.
Lance McCullers Jr. set the tone early. The veteran right-hander worked three clean innings, struck out four on just 32 pitches, and left with the Astros leading 2–0. Joey Loperfido doubled to open the first, Yordan Alvarez walked, Christian Walker doubled home a run, and Cam Smith followed with an RBI single to give Houston the early advantage.
The wheels came off after McCullers departed. Bryan Abreu took over in the fourth, and Baltimore capitalized quickly. Coby Mayo, who had already homered earlier to tie the game, delivered again with a two-run single in the fifth to put the Orioles ahead 4–2. A wild pitch from Roddery Muñoz added another run.
Houston answered in the sixth, and the turning point came from an unexpected source: Jack Winkler. With the bases loaded and the Astros trailing, the infielder ripped a three-run double to left that flipped the game back in Houston’s favor at 5–4. Cam Smith followed with a ground-rule double to extend the lead to 6–4.
Baltimore kept the pressure on. Brandon Butterworth drove in a run in the seventh to make it 6–5, and Mayo came through again later in the inning with another RBI single that tied the game at 6–6. The Orioles’ infielder was the offensive catalyst all afternoon, reaching base repeatedly and creating problems for Houston’s relievers.
The Astros finally ended it in the ninth. A walk to Collin Price, a Drew Brutcher single, and a hit batsman loaded the bases before Whitaker lifted a sacrifice fly to center to bring home the winning run.
McCullers’ outing was the most encouraging pitching development of the afternoon—efficient, sharp, and a positive sign for a rotation still searching for clarity heading toward Opening Day. Smith continued his strong spring, and Winkler delivered the biggest swing of the day when Houston needed it most.
