The Houston Astros lost to the Philadelphia Phillies 11-7 on Tuesday night inside Citizens Bank Park. The Astros drop to 74-72 on the year, still sitting two games clear of the Texas Rangers in first place in the AL West.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Phillies turned to their top statistical pitcher, Christopher Sanchez, to start the game. The only damage he allowed in the first inning was a single to Yordan Alvarez.
Houston countered with its staff ace, Hunter Brown, who faced the minimum in the bottom of the first.
Much like Tuesday’s game, Houston wasted little time jumping out to an early lead.
With two outs in the top of the third, Alvarez ripped a double off the right-center field wall, scoring Cam Smith from third. Isaac Paredes followed with a two-run homer over the left side of the center-field wall.
Jose Altuve came up next and doubled to center field for his 2,500th career hit. A few batters later, Yainer Diaz brought Altuve home with a single up the middle, giving Houston a 4-0 lead heading into the bottom of the third.
The lead wouldn’t last long. Philadelphia strung together five consecutive singles in the bottom of the third, scoring four runs to tie the game.
Houston answered in the top of the fourth when Smith launched a two-run homer to center field, putting Houston back in front 6-4.
Trea Turner cut the deficit to one with a solo home run to right field in the bottom of the fifth, making it 6-5.
What had been a close game quickly unraveled in the bottom of the sixth as Philadelphia erupted for six runs.
Bryan King relieved Brown and allowed one run before manager Joe Espada went to A.J. Blubaugh. Blubaugh didn’t fare any better, walking in a run before giving up a grand slam to Kyle Schwarber that gave Philadelphia an 11-6 lead.
Paredes brought Houston one run closer with an RBI single in the seventh, but it wouldn’t be enough as Philadelphia held on for the 11-7 win.
BIG NUMBER: 2500
Jose Altuve registered his 2,500th career hit with a double off of Cristopher Sanchez to center field.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Kyle Schwarber
In a high-scoring game, Kyle Schwarber delivered the biggest hit of the night with a grand slam in the sixth inning. The blast put Philadelphia up by five runs and all but sealed the win for the Phillies.
UP NEXT: The Astros and Phillies will play midday tomorrow at 12:05 PM. The action can be heard on our sister station, Newstalk 98.5 FM/1520 AM.