Houston led for seven innings. Then Taylor Ward turned it into a loss with one swing. Ward's two-run homer in the eighth off Bryan King put Baltimore ahead for good, and the Orioles held on for a 3-2 win over the Astros at Daikin Park.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| HOU | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
Peter Lambert was excellent for Houston, working 6.0 innings and allowing just 1 run on 3 hits while striking out 10. He walked 3 but kept the Orioles off balance most of the night before handing the ball to the bullpen with a lead intact. It was the best individual performance of the game, even in defeat.
The decisive sequence came in the eighth. With Houston leading 2-1, Ward homered to left center, a 399-foot shot that also brought home Rutschman, and Baltimore surged in front 3-2. Earlier, the Astros had built their lead in pieces: Alvarez doubled home Peña in the first, and after Baltimore tied it in the third on a bases-empty rally that saw Alonso walk with Mayo scoring, Paredes answered right back with a sacrifice fly to right that plated Peña again.
Bryan King took the loss after allowing 2 runs on 2 hits in just 1.0 inning of relief, his season record falling to 2-3. Houston's bullpen overall covered 3.0 innings and allowed 2 runs. Tyler Wells earned the save for Baltimore, working a scoreless inning, and Dean Kremer had started for the Orioles, going 4.0 innings and allowing 2 runs on 4 hits before Baltimore's relief corps took over and did not allow a run across 5.0 innings.
The win was Baltimore's fifth straight, improving the Orioles to 47-51. Houston, meanwhile, dropped to 47-52, its second consecutive loss.