Atlanta rallied twice in extra innings as Travis d’Arnaud’s pinch-hit, tiebreaking single capped a two-run 11th, giving the Braves a 5-4 walk-off victory over the visiting Houston Astros on Saturday night.
The teams combined for seven runs in extra innings.
Braves rookie Spencer Strider and Houston’s Cristian Javier each allowed a solo homer and five total hits, and combined for 17 strikeouts in their six-inning starts.
The game was tied 1-1 heading into the 10th. That’s when the offenses came alive.
Down 4-3 in the bottom of the 11th, Matt Olson delivered a run-scoring double against the shift to tie the game. d’Arnaud came off the bench to drive an opposite-field single against Ryne Stanek (1-1) to give the Braves their 11th win in 12 games.
The Braves are in position to sweep this three-game set, a rematch of the 2021 World Series.
Jake Meyers and Yuli Gurriel delivered RBI hits off Dylan Lee in the 10th to give Houston a 3-1 lead. But the Braves got run-scoring hits of their own from Michael Harris II and ex-Astro Robbie Grossman against Hector Neris for a 3-3 contest.
Jeremy Pena, who homered off Strider in the fifth, made enough contact against Atlanta’s Jackson Stephens (2-2) to chop the ball to third, scoring Alex Bregman in the 11th for a 4-3 Houston edge.
Pena snapped a 21-game homerless drought with his 16th of the season for the Astros, who have dropped four of six following a four-game winning streak.
After Pena put Houston up 1-0 in the fifth, Atlanta’s Vaughn Grissom homered in the bottom of the fifth. It was the third home run in 11 major league games for Grissom, who is batting .385.
The teams combined for 14 hits. The Astros, meanwhile, struck out 16 times against six Atlanta pitchers.
Strider allowed just three hits and struck out nine in his six innings. Javier allowed just two hits and struck out eight in his six frames.
Houston played without slugger Yordan Alvarez, who exited Friday’s game with reported shortness of breath. Alvarez was checked out at a local hospital and was at the ballpark Saturday night. The Astros hope to have him back in the lineup for Sunday’s finale.
–Field Level Media
