The Astros built a five-run lead Tuesday night in Philadelphia, watched most of it disappear, and then survived a tense ninth inning to beat the Phillies 6-5 at Citizens Bank Park.
Christian Walker drove in three runs with his 25th home run of the season, Cam Smith and Daulton Varsho also went deep, and Hayden Wesneski gave Houston six solid innings as the Astros improved to 74-71. Houston finished with 11 hits and three home runs in the series opener.
Astros Jump on Painter Early
Houston did most of its damage against Phillies starter Andrew Painter in the second inning.
Varsho opened with a double and Yainer Diaz followed with a single before Walker crushed a three-run homer to left-center. The ball traveled 439 feet with an exit velocity of 107.7 mph, giving Houston a 3-0 lead.
After Taylor Trammell struck out, Smith walked and Jeremy Peña doubled him home to extend the lead to 4-0.
Smith added another run in the fourth, hitting his 18th homer of the season to make it 5-0.
Painter lasted five innings, allowing five runs on 10 hits and two walks while striking out six. He fell to 3-9 with a 5.71 ERA.
Wesneski Holds Philadelphia in Check
Wesneski cruised through the first five innings before the Phillies finally broke through in the sixth.
Justin Crawford doubled with one out and scored on Kyle Schwarber’s RBI single. Trea Turner followed with his 18th home run, a two-run shot that cut Houston’s lead to 5-3. Wesneski recovered to retire Bryce Harper and Luis Arraez and finish the inning.
Wesneski allowed three runs on five hits over six innings without issuing a walk and struck out three. He improved to 5-1 with a 3.35 ERA.
Varsho’s Homer Proves Crucial
Varsho restored some breathing room in the seventh, hitting his 11th home run of the season off Brooks Raley to push Houston’s lead to 6-3.
The run quickly became important.
AJ Blubaugh opened the bottom of the seventh by allowing a double to Alec Bohm and hitting Bryson Stott before Brandon Marsh doubled home Bohm. With runners at second and third and nobody out, Peña made a diving catch on J.T. Realmuto’s liner and doubled Marsh off second.
Bennett Sousa replaced Blubaugh and struck out Derek Hill, allowing Houston to escape the inning with a 6-4 lead.
Bryan Abreu worked around a double and a hit batter in a scoreless eighth, striking out Harper and Bohm to preserve the two-run advantage.
Hader Survives the Ninth
Josh Hader entered with a two-run lead and quickly turned the ninth inning into an adventure.
Stott led off with a single and pinch-hitter Edmundo Sosa doubled him home, trimming Houston’s lead to 6-5 before an out had been recorded. Hader then retired Realmuto and Hill on fly balls.
Sosa stole third, putting the tying run 90 feet away with Schwarber—the MLB home run leader—coming to the plate. Schwarber popped out to Nick Allen to end the game.
Hader earned his 24th save.
Altuve Will Have to Wait
Jose Altuve entered the night one hit away from 2,500 for his career, but the milestone will have to wait at least another day.
Altuve went 0-for-5, including a ninth-inning strikeout, leaving him at 2,499 career hits.
Yordan Alvarez also went hitless in five at-bats as his pursuit of the American League Triple Crown continues. Varsho led Houston with three hits and scored twice, while Walker and Diaz each had two hits.
The win improved Houston to 74-71 and increased its AL West lead over idle Texas to 2½ games with 17 games remaining. The Astros continue the series Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park, with Hunter Brown (5-3, 3.31 ERA) facing Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez (16-5, 2.58) at 5:40 p.m. CT.
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