HOUSTON – In a thrilling conclusion, Yainer Diaz delivered a clutch home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to propel the Houston Astros to a narrow 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night. Framber Valdez was the stellar performer on the mound for the Astros, holding the Rays to just three hits in an impressive complete game effort.
At the beginning of the ninth inning, the score remained knotted at one. Garrett Cleavinger, who took the loss for the Rays, managed to retire Jose Altuve and Christian Walker with strikeouts. However, Diaz rose to the occasion, launching a 98 mph sinker over the right field wall and setting off jubilant celebrations among the Astros and their fans.
Valdez, who improved his record to 5-4, was impressive throughout the game despite yielding a first-inning solo homer to Jose Caballero. He tied his season-high with nine strikeouts in what was his ninth career complete game and the second this season. The Astros found themselves trailing 1-0 until the eighth inning. Jake Meyers got things rolling with a double that set the stage for Zach Dezenzo’s crucial single. A throwing error by Curtis Mead allowed Dezenzo to advance to second, further pressuring Tampa Bay’s defense.
Caballero’s early home run had provided the Rays with an initial lead. It marked only his second long ball of the season, with his last occurring back in April. On the mound for the Rays, starter Ryan Pepiot was impressive in 6 2/3 scoreless innings of work. This performance followed another dominant outing in which he allowed no runs across seven innings.
Valdez was exceptional, retiring 12 consecutive batters before Jonathan Aranda reached base on an infield single in the fifth inning. He quickly regained his form by striking out Danny Jansen and inducing a double play from Mead to close the frame. Valdez continued his dominance, methodically dispatching the next nine batters through the sixth to eighth innings, including three additional strikeouts.
Tampa Bay’s Taylor Walls managed a single in the ninth, and Caballero earned a walk. However, Walls’ attempt to steal third was thwarted, and Valdez completed the game by getting Yandy Díaz to ground out. In a challenging seventh inning for the Rays, Walker’s single off starter Pepiot signaled a pitching change to Kevin Kelly. Despite giving up a single to Diaz, Kelly preserved the stalemate by striking out Cam Smith.
The decisive home run by Diaz was a pivotal moment, energizing the Astros and overturning their misfortune following a hefty 13-3 defeat in the series opener. Significantly, Valdez achieved the complete game with remarkable efficiency, needing just 83 pitches to seal the win.
Looking forward, the series continues as Tampa Bay’s Zack Littell, with a 4-5 record and a 3.97 ERA, faces off against Houston’s Colton Gordon, who holds a 3.52 ERA in his nascent major league career.