Mar-win: 3-run homer in 9th does it
Gonzalez’s shot is his 4th of trip; Osuna gets the victory in return
SAN FRANCISCO — Before the game began, another he would enter without three of the hitters who buoy his potent lineup, Astros manager A.J. Hinch did not wish for pity. The baseball world knows of the Astros’ plight, playing currently without a World Series MVP, the reigning American League MVP and an All-Star shortstop who hits cleanup.
“We’re going to have to find a way to be an effective offense without the middle of our order being intact,” Hinch said.
“It would be nice for some guys to get hot.”
Four hours later, as the temperatures dropped and another shutout loss grew closer, Marwin Gonzalez strode to the plate. Giants closer Will Smith languished on the mound. Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel coaxed two-out walks against him, offering life to a dying offense.
They entered the ninth inning after placing one man in scoring position during the previous eight. No hits were struck and just three runners reached base after the third inning. Smith was erratic. Bregman worked a full-count free pass. Gurriel saw four pitches. None were close.
He yanked a first-pitch curveball to Gonzalez. The second pitch was a fastball, fat and over the mid-
dle of home plate. Gonzalez annihilated it deep into the leftfield bleachers, a three-run, goahead home run to continue his torrid road trip and give the Astros a 3-1 victory.
It was Gonzalez’s fourth home run during this three-city tour. Three, including Monday’s, came from the right side of the plate. Gonzalez had not struck a righthanded home run before this eight-game stretch.
Gonzalez has eight hits in his last eight days. Monday, he was the only Astro to notch two hits.
The second ensured Roberto Osuna, the Astros’ controversial deadline acquisition, received a win in his first major league action since May 6. Osuna relieved Charlie Morton in the eighth inning, tossing five pitches to retire the side in order.
In the ninth, his new offense came alive.
Morton tossed seven sterling innings, allowing three hits and striking out eight. He committed one mistake, which nearly proved fatal. The 34-year-old righthander was one strike away from fanning the side in the sixth inning. He flung a 2-2 curveball to Brandon Crawford.
It landed on the inner half of the strike zone but did not bite. Crawford bludgeoned it to right field, depositing it atop the brick wall that separates this idyllic ballpark from McCovey Cove.
Pyrotechnics launched into the sky at the site of offense — so foreign on this night. The teams entered the ninth inning with six hits. Only three went for extra bases.
A fourth came soon enough.