ST. PETERSBURG — Despite being down two hits Wednesday night, the Astros still managed to pull out a narrow victory. That’s the way things are these days for Houston, which has climbed to the top of the American League West despite numerous injuries to key players and underperformance from others.
Nothing has come easy this season, and the Astros’ 2-1 victory over the Rays in 10 innings Wednesday night at Tropicana Field — their season-high eighth straight win, all on the road — was the type of victory that showed the grit and fight of a team with championship pedigree and playing with a sense of urgency.
Mauricio Dubón snapped an 0-for-14 drought with a middle-of-the-inning RBI single in the top of the 10th that was the game-winning run. Josh Hader, who threw 12 pitches in the ninth, homered in the bottom of the 10th to send Houston home to face the White Sox after an 8-1 road trip.
“A hell of a road trip,” first-year manager Joe Espada said. “We got the job done. We beat some really good teams on the road and we played really well. Close game. Another one-run game. Great shots, great plays when we needed to make them and big hits when we needed to make them. A great win.”
After losing to the Rangers in extra innings in Arlington on Aug. 5 to open the trip, the Astros won two games in Texas before sweeping the Red Sox at Fenway Park and the Rays at Tropicana Field. They improved their season record to 10 games over .500 (65-55) and are 2 1/2 games ahead of the Mariners, second in the American League West.
“That’s who we are, we come here to try to take it one game at a time and win,” Dubón said. “If we lose, it happens. If not, we move on to the next one.”
Dubon’s game-winning single off Garrett Cleavinger with two outs in the 10th inning was Houston’s first hit since Jeremy Peña homered off Rays starter Zack Littell in the fifth inning. The Astros won a game with just two hits for the first time since Sept. 5, 2017, and the first time in club history they’ve done it in extra innings.
The Astros improved to 13-19 in one-run games, and five of their eight wins during their winning streak have come by two runs or fewer.
“I feel like we supported each other,” Peña said.
Astros starting pitcher Ronel Blanco had his best start in a month, needing just 73 pitches to throw six scoreless innings, but he was forced off the field when a 106.5 mph hit from Brandon Lowe grazed his index finger.
“It was really scary because I saw the bullet coming towards my face and luckily I was able to defend myself,” Blanco said. “I’m thankful it hit my finger and not my face.”
The finger went numb and X-rays came back negative. Blanco, who wore a finger guard after the game, expects to make his next start.
“He was a little sore, but he threw the ball really well,” Espada said. “He was efficient early in the game, he had a lot of chases early in the game, he was really efficient and he got us into the sixth inning. He threw the ball really, really well.”
Astros reliever Tayler Scott got two big outs to end the seventh inning and left runners on second and third to keep the Rays from scoring. The Rays pushed the tying run into the eighth inning when Taylor Walls slid home off Jose Altuve’s pitch after a grounder on a close play.
Hader retired all six batters he faced in the ninth and 10th innings, marking the fourth time this year he has pitched at least two innings. He earned the win when Dubón singled up the middle to score Pedro León, who moments earlier had been nearly thrown out as he advanced to third base on a fly ball. Dubón hit 3 for 22 on the away trip, but sent the Astros back to Texas as the winners.
“That’s how you get going, with big shots,” Espada said. “He’s a guy that’s going to put the ball in play, he’s a guy that’s going to compete. He’s a guy that loves the moment and that was a huge moment. A big shot.”
