Peter Lambert gave the Houston Astros exactly what they needed through the first four innings of Thursday’s doubleheader opener in Baltimore—and then the fifth inning arrived.
Lambert worked into the fifth inning, allowing a Jeremiah Jackson RBI double in the fourth that put Baltimore ahead 1-0. But the damage in the fifth was decisive. With one out, Blaze Alexander doubled, Gunnar Henderson singled, and Taylor Ward walked to load the bases. Lambert was lifted for Steven Okert, who promptly surrendered a grand slam to Adley Rutschman—his fourth of the season—to left center field, extending the lead to 5-0 and effectively ending the game before the Astros had found their footing offensively.
The Astros managed a run in the seventh when Brice Matthews reached on a bunt single, moved to second on a Dustin Harris single, and scored on a Christian Vázquez RBI single. But the rally was snuffed out immediately, and the bottom of the seventh made things worse. Jason Alexander walked three and allowed a grand slam to Jeremiah Jackson that extended the Baltimore lead to 10-1.
Houston scored twice more in the eighth on a Yainer Diaz RBI single and a Matthews RBI infield single, but the final was 10-3. The Astros fall to 11-20.
Lambert took the loss, falling to 1-2. He allowed two runs on two hits in 4.1 innings, walking three and striking out three. Chris Bassitt earned the win for Baltimore, allowing just one run on seven hits over 6.2 innings with seven strikeouts.
Matthews contributed on the day with a bunt single in the seventh that started the rally and an RBI infield single in the eighth that scored Altuve. Vázquez’s RBI single drove in the first Houston run.
Lance McCullers Jr. takes the mound for Houston in game two of the doubleheader this afternoon.
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