Bregman delivers another walk-off
Homer on 0-2 pitch defeats Toronto
HOUSTON — It isn’t very often that Alex Bregman whiffs on two straight fastballs, so when he did so in the ninth inning on Wednesday it left Houston’s third baseman a bit upset.
Fortunately for the Astros, the Albuquerque native took out that aggression on the next pitch, connecting for a two-run homer that completed a big rally to lift Houston to a 7-6 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
It was Bregman’s third straight game with a homer and it capped a huge comeback for the Astros, who trailed 5-0 in the middle of the first inning after a terrible start by Dallas Keuchel.
The Astros trailed by one when Tony Kemp singled off Ryan Tepera (5-3) with no outs in the ninth and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Then with one out in the inning, Bregman sent a fastball to left field, where it bounced off the wall above the Crawford Boxes, to give Houston the victory.
“That was the first guy I’ve swung and missed two straight fastballs on this year, I think, besides (Luis) Severino,” Bregman said. “So it kind of ticked
me off.”
According to ESPN, Bregman’s three walk-off hits this year lead the majors.
REDS 6, BRAVES 5: In Atlanta, Adam Duvall had a two-run single in the seventh inning, and Jose Peraza homered and
scored twice as Cincinnati beat Atlanta.
The Reds have won two straight and nine of 10, taking two of three from the NL Eastleading Braves.
RED SOX 9, ANGELS 6: In Boston, J.D. Martinez hit his major league-leading 25th home run and Rafael Devers delivered a tie-reaking double as Boston Red beat Los Angeles after squandering a six-run lead.
Martinez’s homer capped a six-run second for the Red Sox, who won for the fifth time in six games.
RANGERS 5, PADRES 2: In Arlington, Texas, Mike Minor took a perfect game into the seventh inning and Shin-Soo Choo reached base for the 40th straight game as Texas beat San Diego.
Minor (6-4) was perfect until Eric Hosmer’s single up the middle with one out in the seventh. One out later, center fielder Delino DeShields preserved Minor’s shutout by leaping to rob Hunter Renfroe of a home run. PIRATES 5, METS 3: In New York, David Freese hit a goahead, two-run single and Pittsburgh rallied for four runs in the ninth inning to beat New York.
Gregory Polanco had an RBI single and Josh Bell added a sacrifice fly in the ninth as the Pirates, shut down by Zack Wheeler most of the night, won for just the second time in eight games. PHILLIES 3, YANKEES 0: In Philadelphia, Zach Eflin limited New York to four hits in seven innings, and Rhys Hoskins hit a three-run homer in Philadelphia’s victory. Eflin (6-2) won his fifth straight start.
DODGERS 7, CUBS 5: In Los Angeles, the Dodgers’ Max Muncy, Joc Pederson and Cody Bellinger hit homers to lead LA past Chicago. DIAMONDBACKS 2, MARLINS 1: In Miami, Robbie Ray (3-0) pitched six scoreless innings in his first game in nearly two months in Arizona’s victory over Miami. MARINERS 8, ORIOLES 7 (11): In Baltimore, Denard Span hit a tie-reaking sacrifice fly in the 11th inning after Kyle Seager delivered a two-run homer in the ninth as Seattle beat Baltimore. INDIANS 5, CARDINALS 1: In St. Louis, Edwin Encarnacion and Lonnie Chisenhall hit back-to-back homers, and rookie Shane Bieber pitched six strong innings to help Cleveland beat St. Louis. ROYALS 5, BREWERS 4: In Milwaukee, Mike Moustakas’ solo homer opened a five-run seventh inning that snapped an extended run-scoring slump for Kansas City, and the Royals held off Milwaukee. GIANTS 1, ROCKIES 0: In San Francisco, Brandon Crawford homered in the bottom of the ninth to lift San Francisco over Colorado. ATHLETICS 3, TIGERS 0: In Detroit, Jed Lowrie hit an RBI double in the fourth inning and Chris Bassitt pitched six innings in Oakland’s victory over Detroit. WHITE SOX 6, TWINS 1: In Chicago, Jose Abreu and Avisail Garcia homered for Chicago, and James Shields limited Minnesota to four hits.