Alvarez's two-homer, six-RBI night lifts Astros over Rays 10-8 after outfield shakeup
Yordan Alvarez hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to complete a two-homer, six-RBI performance, giving Houston a 10-8 win over Tampa Bay hours after the club optioned two outfielders to Triple-A.
Roster moves before first pitch
Hours before Saturday's game, the Astros optioned outfielders Jake Meyers and Joey Loperfido to Triple-A Sugar Land, recalling Zach Dezenzo and activating LaMonte Wade Jr. from the injured list. Meyers, a Gold Glove finalist in 2024, was batting.206 with a.167/.231/.250 line since June 2 and had started only three of the previous ten games. Loperfido, reacquired from Toronto in March, hit.136 after returning from the IL on June 4. Wade went 4-for-12 with a home run in four games before a hamstring strain sidelined him on June 9. Dezenzo had an.822 OPS in his last 93 Triple-A plate appearances.
He's helped us to win a lot of games, helped us win a lot of postseason games. He's part of this organization's success, but he understood it. We're going to help him. We've pinpointed some things that he's going to be working on in Triple-A.
Outfield production in focus
Houston entered Saturday with a.673 OPS from its outfield, better than only three teams. The outfield's.294 on-base percentage was the lowest in the majors. General manager Dana Brown, who said he was "not done yet" after acquiring Loperfido, has now optioned him twice in the season's first 90 games. The club had spent multiple offseasons trying to trade Meyers, a 13th-round pick in 2017 who owns a career.669 OPS.
We're just trying to improve our club, get some production from the outfield.... Just to change things up. Get some quality at-bats, also trying to give those guys some at-bats in Triple-A. There's still a lot of season left, so hopefully these moves make us better and get some more offensive production.
Game swings
Junior Caminero, named to his second All-Star team earlier in the day, opened the scoring with a first-inning solo homer (his 11th in 11 games). Richie Palacios added a two-run shot in the second, and the Rays built a 7-2 lead with three runs in the third and one in the fourth. Yainer Diaz answered with a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth. Alvarez's RBI single in the fifth cut the deficit to 7-5, but Jonny DeLuca restored a three-run cushion with a solo homer in the seventh. Houston tied it in the bottom half on a three-run rally, capped by Zach Dezenzo's pinch-hit, two-out RBI single off Craig Kimbrel.
- Junior Caminero solo home run (Rays 1-0)
- Richie Palacios two-run homer (Rays 3-0)
- Rays score three runs (Rays 6-0)
- Rays add one run (Rays 7-2)
- Yainer Diaz two-run homer (Rays 7-4)
- Yordan Alvarez RBI single (Rays 7-5)
- Jonny DeLuca solo home run (Rays 8-5)
- Astros score three, Dezenzo pinch-hit RBI single ties it 8-8
- Alvarez two-run walk-off homer (Astros 10-8)
Ninth-inning finish
Jose Altuve walked to open the ninth against Casey Legumina (2-2). Alvarez then drove a two-run homer to right, his second of the night and 29th of the season, leading the American League. The blast gave Houston a 10-8 win and snapped Tampa Bay's nine-game winning streak, the longest in the AL this year. Josh Hader (3-0) earned the win after the bullpen held the Rays to one run over the final five innings.
What's next
The Astros (43-47) remain three games behind Texas in the AL West. Peter Lambert (6-5, 3.51 ERA) is scheduled to start Sunday's series finale; the Rays had not named a starter.
