The Astros had a four-run lead, Jose Altuve collected the 2,500th hit of his career, and the offense put up 12 hits.
None of it was enough.
Philadelphia scored six runs in a disastrous sixth inning Wednesday, turning a 6-5 Houston lead into an 11-6 deficit on the way to an 11-7 Phillies win at Citizens Bank Park.
A Wild Third Inning
After two scoreless innings, the game changed quickly.
Houston struck first when Yordan Alvarez doubled home Cam Smith in the third. Isaac Paredes followed with his 19th home run, a two-run shot that made it 3-0. Altuve then doubled to center for the 2,500th hit of his career, and Yainer Diaz drove him home with a single to give Houston a 4-0 lead.
The lead lasted only minutes. The Phillies answered with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Trea Turner drove in one, Bryce Harper’s two-run single cut the lead to 4-3, and Luis Arraez tied the game with an RBI single.
The Astros went right back in front in the fourth. Daulton Varsho reached on a bunt single and throwing error before Smith hit his 19th homer of the season, a two-run shot that restored a 6-4 Houston lead. Turner answered with a solo homer off Hunter Brown in the fifth to make it 6-5.
The Sixth-Inning Collapse
Brown left after five innings, having allowed five runs, four earned, on seven hits. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter.
Bryan King took over in the sixth, and the inning unraveled immediately. Arraez doubled, Christian Walker committed a fielding error, and Edmundo Sosa singled home the tying run. Justin Crawford followed with an infield single after Philadelphia successfully challenged the call at first, loading the bases with nobody out. King departed without recording an out.
AJ Blubaugh inherited all three runners and struck out J.T. Realmuto for the first out. He then walked Bryan De La Cruz with the bases loaded, forcing in the go-ahead run.
Kyle Schwarber delivered the crushing blow, launching his 44th home run of the season, a grand slam to right field that turned Houston’s 6-5 lead at the start of the inning into an 11-6 deficit. All three runners Blubaugh inherited from King scored.
Astros Can’t Climb Back
Paredes drove in Jeremy Peña with a seventh-inning single for Houston’s final run. The Astros finished with 12 hits, including two apiece from Peña, Alvarez, Paredes, Diaz, and Smith.
Alvarez went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI as he continued his pursuit of the AL Triple Crown. Smith went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, while Paredes finished 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI.
Tatsuya Imai provided two scoreless innings to finish the game for Houston. He allowed one hit and three walks while striking out three, keeping Philadelphia off the board in the seventh and eighth.
The loss dropped Houston to 74-72. The Rangers also lost Wednesday, falling 3-2 to Seattle, so the Astros remain two games ahead of Texas in the AL West.
Houston and Philadelphia finish the three-game series Thursday at 12:05 p.m. CT at Citizens Bank Park. Cristian Javier will start for the Astros against Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler (12-5, 3.23 ERA).
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