In a thrilling Monday night showdown, the Baltimore Orioles pulled off a stunning 8-7 victory over the Houston Astros, with Cedric Mullins delivering a dramatic go-ahead, three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning.
Trailing 7-5, Mullins stepped up to the plate with one out and sent a 2-1 slider from Astros closer Ryan Pressly sailing 425 feet to right-center field. The clutch home run not only put the Orioles ahead but also marked a spectacular comeback for Baltimore.
The rally began with back-to-back singles from Ryan O’Hearn and Austin Hays, setting the stage for Mullins’ game-changing blast.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Orioles pitcher Yennier Cano showed nerves of steel, striking out Chas McCormick on three pitches with the tying run on third base to secure his seventh save of the season.
Despite the Orioles’ triumph, the Astros (84-67) managed to maintain their 1 1/2-game lead over the Texas Rangers (82-68) in the highly competitive American League West division. The Rangers lost 4-2 to the Boston Red Sox earlier in the day, while the Seattle Mariners (82-68) also stayed 1 1/2 games back after shutting out the Oakland A’s 5-0. Baltimore (94-56) extended their lead in the AL East to 2 1/2 games over the idle Tampa Bay Rays.
Ryan O’Hearn had a standout performance, going 5-for-5 at the plate with two RBIs and a run scored for the Orioles, who have now secured three consecutive wins.
In a seesaw battle, the Astros were down 3-1 in the sixth inning but staged a comeback against Orioles reliever Shintaro Fujinami. They scored on RBI singles from Chas McCormick and Jeremy Pena before Jose Altuve’s two-run double gave the Astros a 5-3 lead.
However, the Orioles answered right back in the seventh inning, with Adley Rutschman and Cedric Mullins each delivering an RBI double to level the score at 5-5.
Jose Abreu briefly put Houston ahead with his 16th home run of the season, a solo shot in the seventh inning, but the Orioles continued to battle back. Martin Maldonado added his 14th homer an inning later against Mike Baumann, only for the Orioles to once again erase a two-run deficit.
Baltimore had success against Astros starter Justin Verlander, ultimately scoring three runs on eight hits in Verlander’s six innings on the mound. On the flip side, Orioles starter John Means gave up just one run on four hits in his five innings of work.
